


Fins (A Siren Fanfiction)

by ErosVenus



Category: Siren (TV 2018)
Genre: Abduction, Bullying, Captivity, Character Death, Death, F/M, Fantasy, Gay, Gay Male Character, Kidnapping, Killing, LGBT, M/M, Male Slash, Mermaids, Murder, Prostitution, Rape, Romance, Sexual Assault, Sirens, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:35:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 17
Words: 57,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23905534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ErosVenus/pseuds/ErosVenus
Summary: Bristol Cove 1868.  Orphaned and disfigured, 18 year old Soot has always been stigmatized by the residents of his small fishing town.  In the hope of bettering himself and to get in good with founder Captain Charles H. Pownall, he agrees to babysit his mistress who harbors a secret.  Things become complicated when a merman watches ashore, forcing Soot to befriend and teach the strange creature how to adapt to human ways.  As the pair grow closer, a conflict between merfolk and humans tests his loyalty that eventually will lead to a historical tragedy.
Kudos: 5





	1. Prologue

PROLOGUE

Bristol Cove 1868

Upon the shore, the waves dance, sending forth that quiet lullaby, the harmony of the violent water, and a repeated echo that stirs an unending want and need. Upon the beach, I sit and listen, the cadence and rhythm of the vast, unknown deep and what the ocean shall gift from a majestic enigma. Upon the moon, it touches the night sky, shimmering in a dark pool of stars and glittering mystery, allowing the sea form to vanish over the horizon.

Closing my eyes, I pull my knees in, my bare feet touching the softness of the sand, cushioning my naked soles like fine, cotton linens. My toes dig into the gravel, experiencing the joyous, cool minerals as a cold breeze blows past me gifted from the incoming tide. Patiently, I wait and then it comes. The song.

[ ](https://postimages.org/)

It holds, bringing with it comfort, warmth, familiarity. Gently, the music paces slow, beckons for a welcoming embrace, pleads for me to follow. I willingly submit. It entwines, strokes my innermost desires, luring me toward the rolling tide. Standing, I begin to approach, to appease my curiosity. Ice cold water splashes across my toes, soaking my feet, my ankles. Already, goosebumps form causing me to shiver, but I don’t heed the warnings. The song orders me. Instructs me, to dive, to swim. To be one with the vast mystery and obey the music’s command.

[](https://postimg.cc/BX2W6yPy)

I do. I am close, dipping my hands, beneath the shallow water.

Then nothing. The music disappears: the song gradually quiets, until I hear no more. And I am left standing, soaked, in frigid night water, shaking, wrapping myself to combat the cold.

Stomping back to shore, splashing with each step, I drench the bottoms of my trousers the moment I touch the sand. My knees drop, making an indentation in the gravel as my body shifts to stare out into the ocean. It is there that I see it. The shadowy movements of a big fish illuminated by the moonlight. It splashes back to the deep, reclaiming its song with it. Back to the unknown, dark depths below.

Exhaling a breath, I pick up my ragged boots and get up. Wonder and sadness drift across my face as I turn and head back to town.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An introduction to Soot.

[ ](https://postimages.org/)

Outside, the cock crows signifying the welcoming of morning rays. I open my eyes, scratch the dry scales of my skin, to which the old mattress catches in a pile, and collects its own assemblage of dust, dirt, hair, and grime. I sniff the air, my scent musty and sour, from the previous day’s work, a reminder of the labor I earn for my keep.

[ ](https://postimages.org/)

Getting up from my rusty bed, I cross to the wall, a series of disjointed boards, of the makeshift shack that has been converted into a room. Dry, rotted wood surrounds the chamber from the ceiling to the floorboards leaving an iron stove in the corner to burn old newspapers and coal during the winter months. My only escape is the broken window outside covered by a torn patchwork quilt allowing me privacy and to keep out the freezing temperatures.

I glance at the tiny mirror, nailed to the wooden post at the center of the room. My hair greasy from the days working inside the dirt, coats in a film of blackened ash covering any traces of auburn-brown that might had shown. Streaks of coal cascade around my face masking the patches of red, dry skin that appear on my cheek and forehead. The only thing visible through my cloak of charcoal are my eyes, a waterfall of sea-green foam that makes the only thing about me real.

Releasing a breath, I pick up my only shirt, sullied and brown, a collarless button-up long sleeve that I wear daily next to the trousers that I keep on an old chair. Despite the scuffs and patches, the pants work fine as I slip them over my long johns, button up the fly, and slide the suspenders over my shoulders and shirt. Afterwards, I put on my wool socks, one exhibiting a tiny hole, and ignore the flaw in the fabric as I put on my boots, grab my coat and cap and head outside.

Across the way, I greet a few bystanders. Women in their morning best, dressed in corsets, petticoats, and bonnets as they do their best to ignore me and scurry away. Men in their neatly pressed trousers, shirts, vest, and frock coats staring at me in disgust doing their best to avoid me. Their opinions of me do nothing but harden my heart even more. I’ve grown accustomed to the town’s perspectives of how they see me, how they treat me, and the contradictions they display behind the public façade. Yet still, I forgive them, for that is the Christian thing to do.

I finally arrive at my place of work. Adelaide’s. The town brothel.

Established ten years ago, Adelaide Dupont opened her house of ill-repute to service the fishermen and visiting boats docking at Bristol Cove. A former prostitute herself from the west, Madame Dupont swept into town bringing her bevy of soiled doves, as she likes to call them, to our tiny fishing village and quickly gained customers, namely our founder, Captain Charles H. Pownall.

Despite being married, Captain Pownall secretly frequented Madame Dupont’s business. Though, it was no secret, as he had a mistress that he kept at Adelaide’s. To everyone living in Bristol Cove, we all turned a blind eye to his activities. Me, especially.

Entering through the back door, Miss Christmas greets me as usual with a friendly smile and a breakfast meal.

“Hi, honey!” She says. Her warm grin beams with sunshine. She is the only one who welcomes me.

Shyly, I take off my cap and bow. “Hello, Miss Christmas. Good morning to you.”

Miss Christmas Reeves is one of three Negroes in Bristol Cove. She and her husband Stanley and brother Abel had been runaway slaves from Mississippi before the Civil War ended, setting free the other Negroes, many of whom traveled north for work. Now living in our fishing town, Stanley and Abel co-owned the blacksmith shop while Miss Christmas cooked and cleaned for the girls living at Adelaide’s.

Named after the holiday, Miss Christmas and her family always treated me with kindness and respect; something, the residents never did. I instantly took to her like a fish to water.

“Good morning, Soot.” She replies, bringing a plate of fresh hard-boiled eggs, ham, and a slice of home-baked bread. She seats me at the kitchen table as she pours me a glass of milk.

“Thank you, mam.” I respond politely. I still remember my manners. I eat my breakfast and drink my milk, letting it fill my belly for my busy day.

“Madame Dupont wants you to empty the fireplace, sweep the porch, and check the heating stoves of the girls’ bedrooms. Then you are to deliver and gather her mail at the post office and later clean and mop the watershed.”

Miss Christmas’s instructions rattle off like a regular routine. It is something I usually expect since the madame pays me five dollars a day. I accept my weekly wage and tuck it into an empty tin can that I keep under the bed of my room.

“One more thing, child.” Miss Christmas announces. She leans down to open a cupboard under the sink, removes a wrapped bundle in cloth, and lays it down in front of me. “These are old clothes that no longer fit Stanley or Abel. They might be a bit baggy on you but cinch your belt and none will be the wiser. I’ve taken the liberty to wash and press them myself, and even added some homemade lye soap, gum paste for your teeth, and a brush. Use them to wash up, especially behind the ears.”

“Thank you, Miss Christmas!” I jump up to hug her, but she raises her hands in protest.

“Now Soot,” her body flinches. “You can’t go hugging people when you smell like the Devil coming out of the gates of hell.” She put her hands to her sides. “Go and borrow a washtub from Abel when you go home today!”

“Yes, mam,” I laugh. After finishing breakfast, I head outside to pick up the coal bucket and make my rounds of the house.

Already, several men had been waiting in the parlor. Dressing in her fancy silk robe, Madame Dupont came down the stairs, corseted and swirling in her petticoats and colorful dress.

[ ](https://postimg.cc/zLgDx3H2)

“Gentleman, I see you are ready to be entertained,” she purred. “My girls are ready to keep you company.”

Upon her command, four women descend the stairs. The sweet-faced Mariah, a blonde farm girl from Kentucky. The plump Cindy, a crimson-haired firecracker from Texas. The exotic brunette Marla, from New York. And finally, the petite Sarah from Louisiana. All in their finest, scandalous attire, they wait at the bottom of the stairs for the customers to select them.

“We heard you have a new girl?” One of the men ask Madam Dupont. “Can we see her?”

Slyly, Madam Dupont grins and coyly shakes her head. “I’m afraid, gentlemen, that my special dove is reserved only for a particular client.” She then points to her girls. “However, the rest of my girls are more than happy to entertain you instead.”

The girls of Adelaide’s squeal in delight, grabbing each of the male customers’ hands and pull them upstairs. I wait until they leave and when the last bedroom door closes, I return to my chores.

Opening the iron stove in the living room, I replace the old coal with the new as Madame Dupont enters the room with a disapproving eye.

“Now Soot,” she eyes me up and down. “What did I say about coming to my business looking and smelling like you slept in a trough? From now on, please enter my house clean and washed? Understood?”

I glance at Madame Dupont embarrassed. Casting my eyes down I reply, “Yes, mam.”

“Good.” She whips her silk robe around herself and exits the room.

I don’t argue her stance. Indeed, I am dirty, unkempt, and a disgraceful image to her business but I’ve always knew my station in life. Born without parents, raised in an orphanage and not even given the decency of a proper Christian name, I’ve come to accept what the townsfolk call me by.

Soot. No last name given.

By the taunts, the name-calling, and ridicule for the ash and grime I accumulate handling charcoal, filling the stove bins with hot coal over the years, it is the only name that I answer to. It is the only one I know. If the dirt under my fingernails and the sweat upon back are any indication, all I know is hard work and waiting for God’s time to take me to heaven.

My mind wants to share in my shame, but I focus my attention on today’s tasks. I finish with emptying and replacing the coal in the stove’s living room and go about doing the same upstairs. Dragging the bucket up the steps to the second floor, I notice the sounds of all the women occupied with their customers in their bedrooms, except for one. The one down the hall. The mysterious new girl. The one who I never met. Captain Pownall’s mistress.

Swallowing hard, I knock. No answer coming from the door. Praying the woman is decent, I turn the knob, letting myself in.

“I apologize,” I say first. “I’m just here to change the coal in your stove. I’ll be quick.” I say for reassurance that I’m not disturbing her. I shut the door behind me and try not to notice the young girl with light-brown hair sitting on the bed, staring out at the window.

Wearing a simple nightgown, she appears lost, sad, and frightened. I try to ignore her, instead focusing on the iron stove and begin replacing the coal inside.

“You’re a man?” She asks. I’m assuming she is addressing her question to me.

Keeping my eyes on the stove, I simply answer. “Yes.”

I hear her stand, the bedsprings of her mattress squeaking, as her tiny feet patter behind me.

“What doing?” She questions, looking over my shoulder. Her English is strange. Her words choppy. Perhaps she is a foreigner from another country?

“I’m changing your coal for your stove.” I answer, not bothering to turn around.

“Why?”

“Because it gets cold,” I simply inform her. “You might get chilly when winter comes.” I say nothing more and continue to shovel.

“What is cold?”

Her words are earnest. Perhaps because she speaks in a foreign tongue. I sigh, turn around and show her. Wrapping my arms around myself, I feign a shiver. To my surprise, she follows and that is when I take a good look at her.

A perfect oval face, almost like a half moon, stares at me in awe. Her long hair, light brown, the color of the shore’s highest bronze mountain peaks parts to both sides while her high cheek bones exhibit perfect natural coloring, as does her lips perfectly symmetrical and plump. But it is her eyes that draw me in the most. Piercing blue, naturally clear and serene, like ocean’s waters. She sees me noticing and I look away in embarrassment.

“What is name?” Her fingers touch my face, stroking away the ash and blackened dust on my face. She comes across the dry, scaly roughness of my cheek and she backs away in surprise.

In shame, I cover my face to answer her. “Soot. Soot No Name.”

“You Soot No Name,” she repeats. “Your face different.” She points to herself. “Same, like mine but different.”

I release my hand and nervously face her. “No, I’m different. I don’t look like you.”

Once again, she approaches my skin, notices the dirt covering the extra dry patches of the surface of my hand and caresses her fingers across it. “Yes, different but same like me.” She returns to the window. “Take me to water.”

“What?” I’m shocked by her request. Not wanting to involve myself, I pick up my pail of used coal and start to leave. She blocks my path.

“Take me to water.” She emphasizes, this time more forceful.

I swallow hard. “I don’t want to get involved. It’s none of my business. I simply want to do my job.”

“I tell Charles.” She says without any expression. “He listen. You take me to water, Soot.”

“I don’t know about that,” I tell her. The apprehension in my voice gives me away. “I don’t know Captain Pownall that well. I don’t want to make him angry. I don’t even know your name.”

“I have no name.” The mysterious woman states. “You give me, Soot No Name.”

“How can you not have a name?” I ask. “Everyone has a name.”

“I have no name.” She repeats. “What name you give, Soot No Name?”

This is not a game I wish to play, but seeing how I’m at a disadvantage, I go along with her request. I look at her again, sinking into those sea-blue eyes and hear it. The melody plays in my head, seeing the many suns sinking down across the horizon, touching the earth, allowing the shimmering moon to rise up and kiss the night sky. I hear the song, beautiful and intoxicating filling me, asking me for to enter its embrace. I finally know the name I come up for her.

“Siren,” I first say. Then I soften it. “Sirena.”

“Sirena,” repeats the woman. She smiles up at me. “I like it.” She touches her chest. “I Sirena.” Then she points to me. “You Soot No Name.”

“Just Soot,” I correct her. “Me Soot.” I touch my chest, then point back to her. “You Sirena.”

“Soot.” Sirena whispers. She says it several times before moving to the side. “Go. I tell Charles.”

I nod, unsure of her intentions, enter the hallway and shut her door behind me. I still had more chores to do.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The dusk settles soon, pulling the sun deeper and deeper down over the water’s horizon in a haze of blue to purple, until the sea pours its darkness completely, causing to moon to rise and spread its glistening stars over the ocean’s surface. Miss Christmas sits me down at the kitchen table, filling my bowl with fresh beef stew as I consume each morsel till my belly brims to fullness. I polish off a jug of water, gather up the bundle of clothes and prepare to bid her goodnight, but she stops me for a request.

“Soot?” She catches my attention.

“Yes, Miss Christmas,” I turn to her.

She hands me a basket of fresh baked bread, fruit and eggs. “Could you take this to the Shamaness Powaqa? In exchange, I ask for a bottle of willow bark tea leaves.”

“Sure, Miss Christmas.” I reply. I offer to take the basket in gratitude for the all the kindness, Miss Christmas and her family, has shown me over the years. Traveling to the Haida tribe in the outskirts of town should not be a problem. I’ve done this plenty of times. With all the objects in my arms, I make my final goodbyes to Miss Christmas and trek over to her husband’s blacksmith store. 

Stanley Reeves and his brother in law, Abel, the only two Negro blacksmiths in town, founded a successful business due to their affordable pricing and expert craftsmanship. Unlike their more expensive white competitors, the residents of Bristol Cove patronized their establishment, garnering a loyal following and repeat business.

Pounding away on a piece of hot metal, Stanley’s eyes glances at me coming toward him carrying a cloth bundle and a basket of food.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Miss Christmas’s husband acknowledges me with a smile. “As I live and breathe, Soot! How are you?” He extends his hand and I shake it politely. His face then drops to the items in my arms. “Those gifts wouldn’t be for me? Would it?” He teases.

I laugh. “Sorry, Mr. Stanley. Miss Christmas wants me to bring this basket to Shamness Powaqa so she can get some healing remedies. The bundle are old clothes of yours that your wife gave me.”

“They’re going to good use,” Mr. Stanley grins. “You could use some new threads.” His eyes scan my raggedy outfit.

“Thank you, Mr. Stanley,” I say, shamefully aware of my clothes. “Also, thank Mr. Abel, if you see him.”

“Mr. Able says you’re welcome,” a younger Negro answers, carrying a large wagon wheel in his hands from inside their workroom. “About time, boy, that you’re getting something decent to wear.”

“What can I do you for?” Mr. Stanley asks me.

“I promise Miss Christmas that I would wash up,” I explain. “I was hoping to borrow your washtub?”

“Think nothing of it,” Mr. Stanley offers. “I’ll have Abel drop it by your place tonight.”

“Wonderful,” I repeat. To both men, I say my goodbyes and head out of town to the forest nearby.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The walk in the woods is tranquil and quiet. I always enjoy the sounds of crickets chirping, the hoots of night owls, and the sea winds rustling through the trees. Dipping through the dry twigs and crunching leaves, my boots kick apart the acorns and dried berries out of the dirt path. The walk is meditative and peaceful, and I spin around to enjoy nature’s sweet essence and the tiny bits of moonlight poking through the shadowy trees.

Up ahead, I notice dark figures, a group, rambunctious and primitive, consuming and sharing a large bottle. Gradually, my footsteps draw near until they notice me, do they stop to glare. Eyes, menacing and threatening, shoot through me as their leader approaches in my direction. I stiffen.

“Look, boys!” Their leader announces swaying uncontrollably from the consumption of rum and whiskey in his veins. “The peasant orphan, Soot, has come with goodies for grandmother!” He teases me, equating my errand of that with the Brothers Grimm’s Little Red Riding Hood.

“What does he have, Tyler?” One of the other boys asks their leader, slurring his words. From the shadows, I calculate a group of six, but the alpha male is someone I know all too well.

Tyler Plimpton.

Son of the one of the founding fathers of Bristol Cove, the wretched spoilt child squanders his family fortune in local gambling houses, saloons, and brothels, like Adelaide’s. I’ve seen him enough times visiting Madame Dupont’s business to know how he treats the poor girls. Never with respect or compassion. Now he is here obstructing me from carrying out my errand.

Tyler’s hand slips in the basket to pull out an orange. I protest.

“Give that back!” I tell him.

He tosses the fruit in the air. “Come and take it from me.”

I ignore him and try to proceed further. He steps in front of me.

Nervously, I exhale. “I have no quarrel with you, Mr. Plimpton. I’m simply carrying out an errand. Please let me pass.”

“You have to pay the toll.” He teases, his words incoherent but violent. He grabs my basket while one of his goons take my clothing bundle.

“Give those back!” I plead to them. They simply laugh, tossing the bundle as it were a childish game. I shout. “Stop!” They refuse to listen. A pair of hands lock my arms behind my back, twisting my limbs causing me to wince in pain. I beg. I plead. But none refuse to help me or feel any sympathy for my plight. The group then forces me forward, dancing around me manically while moonlight rays are shadowed by the endless row of trees in front of us.

Soon we reach a clearing. Ocean sounds echo nearby, signaling the pulling of the rising tide. I stop, arms still imprisoning me, as Tyler and his cronies edge me toward end of a steep hill.

Tyler’s face nears me, his breath hot and sinister. “Do you know what I abhor?”

I shake, not answering his question.

“I hate orphans!” He admits to me. “Namely ones who reek of foul odor!” His voice became even more menacing. “And do you know what we do with trash?” He laughs, his breath smelling of alcohol. “We throw them away!”

On his signal, he beckons his men to release their grip on me. Then, without warning, I feel the aggressive shove of my back landing hard upon the dirt, tumbling endlessly through sharp brush, twigs, and dirt, until I slam hard against the soft sand. The gentle tide did nothing to ease the throbbing pain and cuts on my hands and face, while the aching agony of bruises forming on my skin took a few minutes to subside and allow me to raise myself up. Still battered and bleeding, I look around see the bundle of clothes scattered around me, along with the bread, fruit and now broken eggs that no longer contained a basket.

Casting my eyes down, I let the frustration and unfairness overtake me and release my tears.

“There, there now, child,” says a friendly voice.

Through my blurry eyes, I see the figure of the Shamaness Powaqa, in her tribal dress, assisting me up.

“Who did this to you, Soot?” The Haida medicine woman questions me.

I sigh, say nothing and wipe my eyes.

“Very well,” she says with concern. “Let’s salvage what we can.” Assisting me with the gathering the fruit and bread, she bundles up the sandy clothes, shakes them and gathers them in her arms. She then gestures for me to follow.

We journey to the end of the shoreline until the beach connects to a group of trees. From there, the path to the Haida tribe is close and only a few paces of a walk up to their camp. Forced from their land in Delaware, the Haida migrated east until they made their way to the coastal region of the United States. Relocating to Bristol Cove, the Indian tribe have worked closely with maintaining a peaceful coexistence with the town. Though some of the residents still equate them as savages.

Powaqa shakes off some the remnants of sand from the bread and fruit and places them near a bowl inside her hut. She pulls out a bottle of willow bark tea leaves as well as two other small containers of special herbs. Handing them to me, she tells me their usage. The right bottle when grounded into a tea prevents pregnancy. The left bottle is help with a woman’s courses. I wince at the two pieces of information.

[](https://postimages.org/)

“Do not weaken at a woman’s curse!” The shamaness Powaqa snaps at me. “It’s necessary for the women working at Adelaide’s!” I understand and say nothing. “Give this information to Christmas and she’ll know what to do with it!” I nod and take all three bottles. Powaqa then goes around her hut, pulls out hand woven blanket, and begins to and shake and fold my charitable clothes and rewrap them in a bundle. “Take these with you too, Soot.” She orders. I nod again and graciously accept the newly wrapped gift.  
“Now let me attend to your wounds.”

Minutes fly by, as she makes a poultice and applies it on my cuts and bruises. The salve is cool, comfortable, and pleasant and I can feel my body responding well to her healing practices. After cleaning my wounds, she helps me up and we exit her hut and walk down to the shoreline. The tranquil tide and rolling waves offer a peaceful distraction to a rather difficult evening.

“You know, Soot.” Powaqa remarks. “You won’t be the peasant orphan forever. The townspeople will eventually see you as one of them.”

“Not with this face,” I sigh. “I don’t know even know where I belong, Shamaness. It feels like I’m torn between two worlds.”

Powaqa grins, allowing the moonlight rays to illuminate her smile. “To you, your disfigurement is a curse, but it is a blessing.”

I scowl at her term ‘blessing’. I never considered my poor skin as a gift.

“My people believe markings are sacred,” she explains. “That the Gods planted blemishes and disfigurements to bless on the chosen to serve a higher purpose. A higher destiny if you will.”

I rub my hands across the red, scaly dry patch on my cheek. “I don’t believe in much anymore. Other than we die and our purpose in life has been served.” Something interrupts my thoughts, when my foot feels the strange shape of half of a fish fin, buried in the sand. “What the?” I look down at the object outlined by the shadow of the moon’s rays. Strange. Bending down, I touch the object as it dissolves into a pile of minerals and disappears into the gravel. “That’s weird.” I say.

“Look!” Powaqa calls out. She points a few feet away.

We run over to see a naked man, buried in a pile of seaweed on the beach. His face deep in the tiny rocks and stones. I assist Powaqa in turning him over, as she wipes the dirt and sand from his face, do I get a chance to really see him. Even under the moon’s illumination, he was beautiful, a male Galatea chiseled from Pygmalion himself. Tendrils of blond hair, spun from gold, a cleft chin and a perfect equilibrium to his already handsome face. Well-toned in muscle and broad shoulders, his physique epitomized excellence from his rippling chest and flat stomach to the superiority of his sinewy limbs. 

This man is a complete Adonis.

“Is he still alive?” I ask the Shamaness.

Placing her head to his chest, she listens. “I think I still hear a heartbeat.” She raises her head. “Come, let’s get him back to the hut so I can treat him.”

With her assistance, we drag the unconscious man back up to her tribe.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the strange man still unconscious, Soot meets Captain Pownall and his mistress, Sirena.

Years of manual labor has strengthened my bones, toned my muscles, and trained by endurance for what I am about to do now. Locking my arms underneath the stranger’s limbs, my palms connect, pressing against the bare chest of the man, feeling the impeccable grooves of his upper trunk: sheer perfection. My thoughts drift into guilty shame over such sinful ideas and I push them away, while Powaqa focuses on the man’s ankles. For an old woman, she is remarkably strong. She grabs a hold on his legs and together we lift.

We make it a few feet down the shore before exhaustion sets in and we lay him down again. Taking a minute or two to catch our breaths, we repeat the process over and over as we manage to carry him up the hill, through the woods and into her tribal hut.

Placing him gently across a woven rug on ground, Powaqa covers his body with a blanket as she scrounges through her bottles and containers for healing remedies. Light from several lanterns inside cascade across the sleeping stranger’s body and that is when we can see his wounds clearly as day. A row of bleeding holes across his thigh indicate bite marks, deep cuts almost through the flesh as if a wild animal might have attacked him but it is the gashes near the side of his torso that intrigues me the most. A series of slashes near the end of his side, disconcerting and horrific.

[ ](https://postimages.org/)

“What could I have done this?” I ask the Shamaness.

“Who knows,” says Powaqa. “A bear, a wolf, a mountain lion perhaps. There are plenty that live among these woods and hills.”

My head swims with curiosity. “But why we would he be so close to the water?”

The old woman shakes her head. “That certainly is the mystery, isn’t it?” She grabs a jar of seaweed nearby, pounds several herbs into a paste and applies it across the wounds. Once done, she applies pressure with the seaweed, then wraps it with the woven gauze around his thigh and torso. “Now we wait.”

[ ](https://postimages.org/)

A stir of a sound emits from the stranger’s lips. His eyes slowly open, revealing piercing sea-blue eyes, the color of water, as he looks at me for a second in confusion. Then his face contorts to one of anger. He hisses as he rises and grabs my arm, squeezing it hard. The pain winces and I try to pull it away. Yet, his hold is strong. Powaqa comes to my aid.

“Let him go!” She orders. “Release him!” Her hands cover the man’s, but he is too powerful, too brutish to reason with.

He squeezes harder and I yelp in agony. Then his eyes notice the dry white patches of scales across my flesh. The stranger pauses, gently releasing his grip on my skin, and lowers his head back to the rug until he finally closes his eyes to sleep.

My arm throbs from the pain as a bruise forms across the limb. The Shamaness quickly grabs a salve which soothes a bit before checking my arm for any major damage.

“You’re fortunate he didn’t break it.” She tells me, examining my wound and rubbing more ointment on it.

“What is wrong with him?” I clutch my arm, still sore from the stranger’s attack. “He’s like a wild animal.”

The Shamaness glances down at his sleeping form. “Perhaps he is crazed from whatever attacked him. He felt the need to grab you to defend himself.”

“Whatever madness has taken him,” I mention to her. “I would advise to stay clear of his path of insanity.”

I thank the medicine woman, grab my bundle of clothes and the remedies of Miss Christmas and journey back to the village. Night already had brought on too many bad tidings and I no longer wish to remember this evening.

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Morning comes too soon, as the cock crows its alarm. Exhausted from the previous night’s events, I still had not bathed as promised. Caked in the same filth of yesterday, I head outside to pull the metal tub that Abel left me on my doorstep last night inside my shack. Drawing water in a bucket from the local well, I fill the tub halfway full before heating up another dose on the iron stove nearby. Once hot, I pour the remaining contents inside the metal container until the water becomes lukewarm. Thankfully, the season of winter has not yet come so the air is tepid inside my room. Once ready, I strip off my dirty clothes and get inside the tub.

Using the homemade lye soap Miss Christmas gave me, I scrub with an old washcloth, washing the weeks of grime and dirt from my hair, the ash from my face and skin, and the filth from my hands and underneath my fingernails. I even wash behind my ears. Applying the gum paste to clean my teeth, I taste the scent of mint across my tongue as I soak comfortably in the lukewarm water for a few minutes as the muck and gunk collect inside the dirty water.

Satisfied with my cleanliness I finally get out, wiping myself off with the woven blanket that Powaqa gave me and go to claim the charitable clothes given to me by Miss Christmas and her family. I start with the long johns; a bit of sand and flecks of dirt appear from where Tyler Plimpton and his thugs tossed them down the hill last night. I do a bit of a shake and at least remove some of the gravel and I put them on. Next comes the trousers and button-up shirt, sandy and displaying some dust, I repeat the same method as I did with the long johns and slip them on. What Miss Christmas said was true. The clothes were bigger than me. However, a tuck of the shirt and cinch to my belt, remedies the lack of fitted clothes.

At least, the socks remained clean and intact, I slide the fresh pair on along with my old boots. Grabbing the hairbrush, I comb my unruly hair back and check the mirror for the dried scrapes that crisscross my face of when I fell down the hill. Truly, I can’t do much worse as the dry streaks of rough skin across my cheek and forehead, did very little to improve my visage. At least, this time I was clean.

[ ](https://postimages.org/)

After putting on my jacket and cap, I grab Miss Christmas’s remedies wrapped up in a bundle and drag the metal tub filled with dirty water outside to empty it into the street. Once emptied, I carry the container to the Reeves blacksmith shop to return it.

“Look at you, dressing all fancy!” Mr. Abel teases me, the moment I lean the metal tub against the wall of his shop.

“Now you be looking like one of those proper white men in town,” added Mr. Stanley who was busy bending a long metal pipe.

I dip my cap to them. “Thank you again, Mr. Abel and Mr. Stanley. I appreciate you loaning me your tub.”

Mr. Abel nods to me. “It weren’t nothing, Soot. Borrow it anytime.”

“I will,” I reply to the. I dip my cap again and rush off to Adelaide’s.

Miss Christmas shoots me a stern look the moment I enter through the back door. “You’re late, Soot. You’re never late.” Her face scans me up and down. “At least, you’re clean this time.” Then her eagle eyes catch the appearance of my clothes, noticing some streaks of dirt on my pants and shirt before glancing up to see my face. She clutches my chin to look at me. “What happened to you, Soot? You have cuts on your face.” Miss Christmas’s stares at me with concern. “Did someone do this to you last night?”

I decide to lie just to appease her. Telling her truth would only upset her even more.

“I washed and bathed like you asked,” I say to her. “Then I changed into the clothes you gave me before I went to the Haida last night. It was dark and I took a shortcut, but I didn’t see how steep the hill was to the beach and I fell. Nothings broken but my pride.”

Miss Christmas clucks her tongue. “Don’t lie to me, Soot. You smell fresh from morning soap!”

“I also bathed again this morning!” I answer quickly. “Before returning the tub to Mr. Abel.”

Her eyes roll to the side. “Fine. I won’t ask no more.” She exhales a breath. “I want you to know, Soot, that I’m your friend and your only family in this town. Just because these uppity white folks don’t see you, me and Stanley, and Abel do. You can always talk to me if something is bothering you.”

I reach over and hug her. She smells of orange blossoms and strawberries. “Thank you, Miss Christmas.” I kiss her on the cheek as I withdraw and drop the bundle of Haida remedies on the kitchen counter. “Powaqa said that you are familiar with these bottles?”

Miss Christmas picks up each container and examines the leaves and herbs. “Yes, thank you, Soot.” She turns to me and grabs me a plate of plate of oatcakes and syrup and freshly squeeze orange juice in a cup. “Eat up quickly, Madame Dupont has another list of chores to do.”

I wolf down my breakfast, gulp my juice and proceed with the tasks at the hand. It is the usual. Sweep the porch, mop and clean the water closet, empty out and replace the wood in the fireplace, gather her mail from the post office, and pull out the weeds and water the plants in the backyard. I go about completing my tasks as Miss Christmas returns to her duties as well.

It had been around noon, when I returned from the post office with Madame Dupont’s packages and mail. In the usual fashion, I place the items on a desk in the living room when she beckons me to join her inside the private parlor.

The ladies had been busy entertaining customers in the lobby, leading them upstairs to their rooms, while Madame Dupont closes the sliding doors behind me the moment, I enter her private meeting chamber.

“Soot, you are looking quite dapper today!” She compliments me on my old clothes, though I suspect she notices a few stains on my attire. At least, I washed and cleaned myself and I’m much less offensive compared to yesterday.

“Thank you, Madame Dupont.” I respond politely. Nervously, I remove my cap and fiddle with it in my hands.

Her robe twirls around her as she signals me to follow her. We head to the opposite side of the room to the window where a man’s back faces us. From behind, he appears to be wearing a nautical uniform and cap and he finally shifts his position to address the both of us.

[ ](https://postimages.org/)

“Soot, this is Captain Charles H. Pownall.” Madame Dupont introduces us.

Standing in front of me stands one of Bristol Cove’s founders, Captain Charles H. Pownall. Older, sporting a dark beard and wearing a sea captain’s uniform, he smiles at me and offers his hand.

Confusion takes over as I shy accept it. We awkwardly shake as he peruses my face.

“My, you look like you’ve been through a battlefield,” he remarks, seeing the dried cuts on my face. I wonder if he notices the red dry patches across my forehead and cheek.

“I fell last night,” I tell him, averting my face. I didn’t want to tell him the truth of one of the sons of the town’s founders attacking me.

“Hmm, pity.” He states. “I assume you know why you’re here?”

I shook my head. In truth, I had no clue to why Madame Dupont called to me this meeting.

“It involves a certain girl who works here,” he explains. “The one who is at the end of the room upstairs. Apparently, you two had a conversation yesterday.” He paces around me as I nervously gulp.

“It was short,” I say, not wanting to appear that I had any ill intentions. “I simply was changing the coal in her stove and then I left. I didn’t engage in any long talks with her, Captain Pownall.”

“Soot, is it?” He inhales. “That is an interesting name. Where did you get it?”

I swallow hard. “It is name I gave myself. I have no family, Captain Pownall. I’m an orphan. I’ve been in workhouses since I was ten. The nuns at the orphanage never bothered to give me a Christian name and from the ash and soot from working with coal stoves has been what people have referred me by. Soot. Nothing more and nothing less.”

“That is quite distressing, I must say,” Captain Pownall notes, concerning my origins. He continues. “I’ve seen you around town. Many of the folks here call you the peasant boy from your,” his face looks me up and down, “often unkempt attire. Though I must say you’re looking much cleaner than usual.”

“I washed today.” I simply state to him.

“I appreciate that,” he smiles and nods. “Which is why I want to return to discussing the young lady you talked to yesterday. Let’s not assume any pretense. You are aware that she is my mistress.”

My head tilts to the left apprehensively. “I’m aware but it is none of my business, Captain Pownall.”

“Good,” he grins. “I pride Madame Dupont on her matters of discretion. That is why I pay her a hefty stipend to keep my mistress housed here.”

“And why I don’t allow any of the customers to touch her!” Madame Dupont adds. She points to me. “I assure you, Captain Pownall, that Soot has never broken any of my rules. He has seen many of our regular clients patronize these halls and not once has he revealed any of their activities to their wives and families.”

Captain Pownall nods in approval. “That is reassuring to know. I want to maintain my patronage to you, Madame Dupont, and I want ensure that I can entrust my secrets to only a select few.”

Madame Dupont raises her hand to cross her fingers. “You have my assurance, Captain Pownall. All my staff knows to keep their mouths shut.”

“Which is why I wanted to talk to you, Soot,” he gestures to me. “My mistress informs me you gave her a name. Pray tell, what name did you bestow up her?”

I look down in embarrassment as I shuffle my feet. “Sirena.” I whisper.

“Pardon?” He asks me to repeat, my voice mumbles in silence.

“Sirena.” I say it a bit louder.

Captain Pownall’s eyes gaze at me in surprise. “Interesting. How did you come up with that name?”

“I stopped going to school at ten.” I explain. “But I was a surprisingly good reader and quick to learn. I taught myself to read and write, grabbing old textbooks and discarded stories that were thrown away. I read the Bible and classic Greek myths, and I remember tales of the sirens. Mermaids that sang hypnotic songs that made sailors crash their ships on to the rocky shores. She asked me for a name, and she reminded me of a siren, so I named her Sirena.”

“Sirena,” he mumbles. “I like the name. She likes the name. We’ll keep it.”

“Sir,” I tell him firmly. “If you think I have any unsavory motives toward Sirena, I assure you I don’t.”

“Of course not,” Madame Dupont giggles. “That is because Soot here has no lustful intentions toward any of my girls.” She twirls around in her robe with glee. “Or any woman for that matter.”

Captain Pownall’s face turns to one of disgust as he looks at me. He frowns. “You’re a poof? A sodomite!”

His words horrify me. Shameful, disgusting terms that no man should ever hear. I protest. “No! Captain Pownall! I’m not!”

It is no use. The respect in his eyes now gone. I avoid his face in shame and look down at the floor. I feel Madame Dupont’s hands on my shoulder behind me, her warm breath and chin resting against my neck as she snickers in my ear.

“Don’t be so high and mighty, Charles!” She refers to the town’s founder by his name. “We are all sinners here! Even I’ve had my experience with a woman or two in my time! But think about it, Captain, who else to safely serve as a proper escort for Sirena?”

Captain Pownall sighed. “Very well, Adelaide. And Sirena has fondness for the boy. Bring her here and we’ll discuss the terms of the agreement.”

Madame Dupont claps her hands in delight. “Oh goodie!” She exits the room for a moment leaving an uncomfortable tension to exist between myself and the captain.

I decide to break the silence. “Captain Pownall, with all due respect sir, why did you call me in here?”

“You’ll find out soon enough, son.” He says sternly.

Within a few minutes, the sliding doors open. Madame Dupont leads Sirena in, wearing a modest cream-colored dress. Her brown curls cascade down her back as she crosses to the captain, throws her arms around his neck, and kisses him.

“Charles!” She smiles. “You come.”

“Of course, beloved,” he replies. She places her head against his coat and then looks at me.

“Soot,” she addresses me. “You take me to water?”

“Soon, my dear.” The captain interrupts with a promise. Sirena releases her hold as he approaches me.

“Come walk with us, son,” he tells me. He gestures to Madame Dupont. “Adelaide, we will return later.”

“Of course, Captain Pownall,” she curtsies.

“But I have still have chores to do,” I argue, not wanting to offend Madame Dupont.

Madame Dupont shakes her head. “You can finish most of them today and do the rest tomorrow. Now be a good employee and escort the captain and his companion!” She orders.

Sirena takes Captain Pownall’s arm as we walk toward the back door, to avoid being seen by the townsfolk. Miss Christmas sees me following the town’s founder leaving through the kitchen and frowns. I shyly nod goodbye to her as we go down the steps to the garden that lead through the back areas of the main street. We trail through the dirt path of the woods until we reach the secluded area of the beach.

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The tide is calm, smooth and foam-tipped, pushing toward the edge of the beach. A noon cool air emits around all us. The water follows the wind, coming from the sea, blowing in our direction. It swells, captures a bit of cold gust, shooting through the fabric of our clothes and messing our strands of hair every which way. I watch Sirena, lost in her girlish innocence, spinning around the beach, playfully guiding the sand through her fingers.

[ ](https://postimages.org/)

“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” Captain Pownall asks me, watching his lover making a mess in the dirt.

“She is,” I simply say, unsure of how he wants me to respond.

He looks at me with perplexity. “How do you not see it, Soot? How can you gaze upon her and not be stirred by your own desires?”

I shift my eyes toward the ocean. “I don’t think of such things. Miss Sirena is a noble beauty, certainly. But to think of her or anyone else in any other way is shameful and disgraceful.”

“Is that what the nuns taught you at the orphanage?” Captain Pownall mocks. “They certainly didn’t teach you how to be a red-blooded man.”

I exhale. “They taught me many things in order to survive in this world. Humility. Virtue. Respect. Compassion. Kindness. Forgiveness. Some of which, I hold reverence to. I can’t speak of lust or desire because such things are immoral and to consider it is a sin against God.”

He slaps on the shoulder. “Some things are worth sinning for, my boy!”

Sirena finishes inspecting the sand and runs to where Captain Pownall and I are standing.

“Water now?” She asks her lover, like a child requesting approval from a parent.

“Yes, my love,” he smiles.

To my horror, I observe Sirena kick off her shoes, remove her dress and undergarments and toss them aside. My eyes avert her naked form as she marches into the tide.  
“No needs to look away, son,” Captain Pownall, teases. “You have no interest in her anyway.”

“This isn’t right, Captain,” I maintain, blushing in crimson red. “This is immoral and unbecoming of a gentleman. I simply must object to this!”

“Nonsense, Soot.” He argues. “It is in her nature.”

A splash indicates to me that she is now in the water. I release a breath and turn my gaze to the ocean. Her small had bobs up and down in the waves and before long, she submerges underneath. The faint screams of agony echo in my ears, making me aware that she is in distress. I panic.

“She’s in trouble!” I gasp to the captain. “She might be drowning in an undertow!” I start to rush in, but the captain grabs my arm to hold me back.

“Wait,” he says to me. “This is normal.”

Soon the anguish cries stop, replacing it with the most melodic tones I have ever heard. A familiar but gentle rhythm representing the sea, flows like water, deep, illuminous and mysterious. The song plays calling me forward, wanting me to join, but I hold back. My boots still buried in the sand, watch as the wet tendrils of brown hair peek out of the water followed by the long, sleek fin popping out of the waves before disappearing within the sea foam.

I rub my eyes, trying to understand what I had seen. Surely, it can’t be what I think it is! Can it?

“Do you see that?” I excitedly ask the captain. “Surely, I’m not dreaming!”

“You aren’t, Soot,” he smirks, with confidence. “It is as the myths say.”

Still, my mind refuses to embrace the truth. “No, this is not possible! They aren’t real!”

“They are, son,” Captain Pownall calmly remarks. It dawns on me that he had been aware of these creatures’ existences for quite some time.

“Sirena?” I stammer, in wonder and fear. “She is one of them?”

“The only that I know of,” he tells me. “I’m sure there are others, but Sirena is the only that I’ve come across.”

From the beach, I stare at the waves. Rolling along, white-capped, crashing against the shoreline, while underneath the magnificent creature swims, majestic and regal, without a care in the world.

[](https://postimages.org/)

It seems like forever before Sirena returns. Close to the shore where the tide is shallow, she finally appears and that this when I truly see her. Her body as expected, half human half fish, with grayish scales across her body, her eyes piercing blue but more menacing monstrous and feral, as displayed by the sharp teeth shown in her jaw. Web talons on her fingers stretch across as she shifts her back to showcase another row of a pointed fins on her back while a series of gills protrude for her neck.

She screams again in anguish to which the captain pulls me away as I watch with morbid fascination and revulsion her transformation.

“Not yet,” he explains to me. “She is still in her animal state. It is not safe. She will need a bit of time to change. This is normal when they come to land.”

Siren’s body contorts, overwhelm by the pain. I wince, hearing tenseness in her voice of her physical being torn in two. Slowly, the legs emerge separating from the husk of the tail while her flesh turns a normal human color and removes all traces of her mermaid birth. The only thing left behind is the remnant of a long fin being carried off by a large wave in the tide.

She forces herself up, bare as a newborn babe, she walks to where we’re standing. Once again, I avert my eyes and quickly gather her clothes. Drenched in seawater, she says a feeble thank you as she slips into her undergarments, dress, and shoes.

“My dear,” Captain Pownall. “I’ve told our boy, Soot, here what you are.”

“Good.” She says without worry or concern. “He keep secret. I trust him.”

“That is all I need to know,” her lover grins. 

“Why me?” I ask them. “I’m no one. I’m invisible in the town.”

Captain Pownall laughs. “The better to have someone who can watch over my dear Sirena. Someone who does not stick out and draw attention to himself.”

I bite my lip. “I still don’t know what you want from me. I’m just a dirty orphan.”

“Not orphan,” says Sirena directly. She touches the dry patches of skin across my face with her wet fingers. “Not alone. Friend. Family.” She points to me. “You.” Then she touches her chest. “Me.” I hear her inhale a breath. “Same. Friend. I trust.”

I look at Captain Pownall. “Does Madame Dupont know about this?”

He shakes his head. “Only that she is my mistress and I need to keep her a secret. She only knows what I tell her. How about you? Can I trust you to keep her secret safe?”

I hesitate. “I suppose. No one would believe me anyway. They already think I’m mad.”

Captain Pownall places a hand on my shoulder. “Son, we’re all mad, in our own little way.”

I release a breath, still curious by this new revelation. “How did you two meet?”

Sirena observes me noticing her. She answers my question. “Charles save me. Hunting with sister. Got captured by evil man. Sister died. Charles help me escape. Charles, me. We are love.”

I notice the captain shrugging and nodding in approval.

“Do you think there are still more of you out there?” I ask the mermaid.

“I don’t know.” She answers. “Have not find my tribe.”

Memories flow through me like water. Last night, the stranger that Powaqa and I found. Could he be one? I had to ask her.

“Sirena, are there men of your kind?” I probe her directly.

“Yes,” she answers. “Men like me. They are fierce warriors. They hunt for us.”

I stare at Captain Pownall with concern. He notices my worried look.

“What is it, Soot?”

“I think we found one last a night,” I tell them. “A man. He was hurt so the Haida medicine woman and I took him to her hut to be treated. He’s still there now.”

Shocked by my revelation, the captain beckoned me to lead the way. We marched down the end of the shore and followed the path into the Indian tribe’s village.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soot is given an enticing offer.

We reach the Haida camp. Already, the Indians have become wary of us, staring at the three white strangers as they go about their daily lives. Unlike the townsfolk of Bristol Cove, we are the outsiders.

Sirena’s face blinks to me in confusion. “Why they hide?”

I do my best to explain. “The Haida prefer to live in secret. Like your people, they don’t trust anyone who is not them.”

“Like humans?”

[ ](https://postimg.cc/p9LJcsx5)

Sirena’s question surprises me. I never consider that the merfolk of her kind would also choose not to reveal themselves to us. After hearing how she and her sister were captured and her sibling killed, it only makes sense why she would have any faith in humanity.

“Yes,” I reply in the most basic of terms. “Like humans.”

Powaqa rushes out of her hut, sees us, and runs toward us in a panic. “Come quick! The man is awake, but he won’t listen to reason!” A crash echo from inside her home. We slow enter.

Wrapped in a woven blanket around his waist, his bare, muscular torso on display, the mysterious blond stranger runs his fingers through every container of the Shamaness’s potions and herbs on the shelf. Knocking another bottle to the ground, breaking it, Powaqa covers her mouth in shock.

“No!” She gasps. “Those herbs are hard to come by!”

The man finally turns to look at us. Blond tendrils might mask his chiseled face, but there is no mistaking his eyes. Ocean blue, deep and bottomless, the same as Sirena’s. He hisses before noticing Sirena, who calmly approaches the man. He lowers his face, allowing her forehead to touch his, before raising it up again to examine the mysterious people inside the hut with him.

“He is from my tribe,” Sirena explains. They make a few gestures with their hands, communicating in a silent language that only they both understood. “He say he in fight with another. Got hurt. That is when sharks come. They attack. He swim away to land. Hurt some more.”

Powaqa gently approaches him, to check on his bandages. He hisses and flinches back. Sirena calms him.

“He will let you check wound.” She tells the medicine woman.

Slowly, Powaqa removes the bloody gauze, the seaweed and poultice. Peeling back the layers, the gash and the bite marks no longer exist on his perfect body. No mark or a scar is left. He has completely healed.

“Remarkable!” The Shamaness observes in awe. “These creatures heal quickly!”

My mouth drops. “You know what they are? You’ve seen them?”

“I might not have seen them up close,” smiles Powaqa. “But I know they exist. The white man does not believe in our stories. I know of men who turn into wolves when the moon is high. I have seen spirits of the dead walk the earth. Just because you don’t believe in something not being real doesn’t mean that it isn’t there.” She pulls a basket out, removes the lid to reveal a pile of fish still alive and flopping inside the container. “Your friends must be hungry. Please let me offer them food.”

Sirena and the man excitedly grab a piece of the fresh morsel and began consuming it. There is something both scary and oddly fascinating about their feral nature as they finish off Powaqa’s catch and discard the remains back into the basket.

“They need to feed on fresh fish,” says Captain Pownall. “They can subsist on human food for too long.” He then squeezes my shoulder. “Also, being on land for long periods hurts them. They must go back to the ocean from time to time to heal.”

Curious, I probe him. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I think this is important,” he simply says. “You are the only one in town that knows their secret, next to me, of course.”

I think nothing more about his statement. Instead, I focus on the interaction between Sirena and Campbell as she teaches him a few words of the objects inside the hut.  
“Bottle.” She tells the merman, pointing to a glass container.

“Bo…ttle.” He struggles to repeat.

“Can.” She says, in reference to an aluminum can on the Shamaness’s shelf.

“Can.” He repeats.

She then points to herself. “Me, Sirena. You…” She pauses to glance at me. “He needs a name.” Beckoning me over, I follow. Once again, she touches her chest. “Me, Sirena. You…” She places a hand on his.

I soak in the surroundings of the hut, looking for anything to come up with a simple name. My eyes catch the can of soup again on Powaqa’s shelf. Reading the label, I declare a name for him.

“Campbell! His name is Campbell.”

Sirena touches his chest. “You, Campbell.”

The man appears to understand. He presses his fingers to his chest. “Me, Campbell.” He returns his hand to her. “You, Sirena.”

“Yes,” she smiled. He pulls my wrist and touches my arm. “Him. Soot.”

“Soot,” my name appears on his lips. When he says it, he sounds much more inviting. He strokes the dry patches on my face. “Me, Campbell.” He repeats him name.

“Yes, I know,” I smile shyly. “Hello,” I simply mutter, watching him examine me closely.

“Hel..lo!” He responds after me. Campbell’s face then notices Captain Pownall. “Hello!” He finally manages to get the words out.

“Hello, Campbell,” Captain Pownall greets the stranger. “I see you are part of Sirena’s tribe. Welcome to Bristol Cove.”

“Yes,” Campbell says, still in a wonder of the hut and its objects. He appears to comprehend our English. Watching Sirena lean her head against the captain’s back, she smiles and addresses him.

“This Charles,” she tells him. “He is friend.”

Campbell nods, seemingly understanding her words. “Charles, friend. Sirena, friend.” His blue eyes glance my way. “Soot, friend.” He grins.

Powaqa claps her hands to get everyone’s attention. Her voice drips with annoyance. “Yes, yes. Everyone is a friend here! But that man has broken a few of my medicines. It’s going to take me a full day to recover those herbs!”

Captain Pownall reaches into his pocket and pulls out a few bills. “This should cover it, Powaqa.” She gladly takes his money. “I’m sorry for all the trouble. We’ll take the man to town now!”

I help the medicine woman sweep up and clean up the broken glass containers, before facing the captain.

“Captain,” I address him. “What are going to do with Campbell? We can’t have him parading around town. People will ask questions.”

“I’ll think of something,” Captain Pownall tells me.

Powaqa gives me a stack of Indian clothes, a shirt and pants, and, to my surprise, Campbell lets me dress him. I try not to stare at his bare nakedness as he cooperates and lets me put on a shirt over his broad shoulders, while he slips his muscular legs into the baggy fringed pants. Unfortunately, no moccasins were available, so we opted for him go barefoot.

“Come. We go.” I instruct the merman. He follows as the captain, Sirenia and I take the private shortcut leading to town.

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Once we arrive in the garden of Adelaide’s, Captain Pownall detours around the other side of the house. He takes us a hidden alleyway where another row of steps leads to a door at the bottom level of the brothel. I stop him.

“Captain Pownall,” I say to him. “That is the basement.”

The captain grins. “I know, son. But this a special basement.” He heads down the stairs, unlocking a door with a special key, and lets us in.

Once inside, I amaze myself at the room. The basement was neither dark, dusty, or dank. Instead, it is beautifully furnished and painted. Placed against the wall, a mahogany chaise lounge and an upholstered chair sat in the corner next to several wooden end tables, across from the heating stove by the entrance. On the opposite side, two doors opened to a pair of private bedrooms while an indoor washroom stood in between. Inside the comfort room, a sink, toilet, and tub connected to the building’s indoor plumbing, which made it much more convenient for patrons who still resorted to an outside water closet.

Immediately, Campbell grew curious as he began touching the frames and the edge of the end tables. I glance at Sirena holding the captain’s hand as she smiles up at him.  
“Remember this place, Sirena?” He asks the young girl.

“Yes,” she smiles. “It is where you take me. To meet in secret.”

“This is your private room,” I mutter. “No wonder you don’t meet Sirena in her bedroom upstairs.”

The captain guffaws. “Of course not. I wouldn’t want the town to know I’m visiting my mistress regularly at Adelaide’s. Madame Dupont arranged for this basement to be converted to a private suite for me. It’s my secret hideaway.”

“Is this where we should conceal Campbell?” I ask him. “Until we can figure out what to do with him?”

“And Sirena,” the captain agrees. “The customers are starting to suspect something. The girl who lives upstairs but doesn’t meet any of the clients. People will talk.”

“But how are you going to watch over them?” I wonder. “They’re like children, curious and mischievous. They’re bound to wander. In addition, there is the food and water thing.”

Captain Pownall nodded. “Ah, and that is where you come in! I told you earlier that I want to discuss the terms and agreements concerning your employment here with Adelaide’s.”

I could feel my face turning white. “You’re firing me? But what did I do? Have I offended you in any way?”

“No, my boy!” The man laughs. “Quite the opposite. You’ve proven yourself quite noble and trustworthy. I know you can keep their secret.”

Surprise and a strange curiosity took over me, I decide to interrogate him. “Then what new contract are you implying? Is it something to do with my position here?”

“Very much so,” the captain answers. “Here are my terms I’m offering. You will work here as usual for your twenty-five-dollar weekly salary doing your regular tasks for Madame Dupont. In addition, I will add another twenty-five for the week if you watch over both Sirena and Campbell, ensuring that they are well cared for and fed. You will keep them safe, protected, and you will be their escort to ensure they make their regular visits out to sea. Furthermore, I want you to move into these quarters to make sure that you can watch over them. You can take the second bedroom on the right.”

“But I already have room,” I inform him. “It suits me fine.”

Captain Pownall clucks her tongue. “That shack next to the general store? That place is inhabitable. I’m surprised you would even live there.”

“It’s comfortable.” I defend my home. “No one bothers me, and I manage to make it into a home.”

“Nonsense!” The captain forcefully shouts. “I will not allow my mermaid and her friend living in squalor! Sirena will stay here, so will you and Campbell. Agreed? I will also give you an extra stipend to purchase the essentials like food, soap, and…” He looks over my old, dirtied attire. “Better clothes.” His breath inhales. “What do you say, Soot? Are we in agreement?”

I think about his proposal for a moment, take in the nice amenities of the chamber, and the current situation in my life. I knew exactly what I wanted and needed to do.

“I will agree on one condition,” I tell him, standing up straight and firm in my expectations.

“I knew it!” Captain Pownall scowls. His brows slant into anger. “You’re going to blackmail me, extort what you can from the town’s founder, to exploit my wealthy and position! You scalawag! Name your price!”

“No,” I attempt to ease his suspicions. “I’m simply requesting that toward the end of this, you make me one of your cannery sailors.”

“A fisherman?” His brows change from anger to surprise. “I never thought you’d want to be a seaman.”

I exhale a breath. “I’ve always loved the sea, captain. I always have. It’s like I was drawn to it. But you know my station in life here at Bristol Cove, no one sees me more than a dirty ragamuffin! I want more out of life than being the orphan who lives in a shack and shovels coal into iron stoves. I want to join your cannery team and spend my days fishing and sailing the waters. I know it pays one hundred per the weeks of bounty the boats bring in back from the ocean. By now, you are aware of how hard I work for Madame Dupont and if I accept this additional position as a glorified nanny, then so be it. But I want something in return, a chance to have something more in life. What do you say, Captain Pownall? Do we have a deal?” I extend my hand out to him.

“How old are you, boy?” He asks me.

“I’m eighteen as of last month,” I say firmly. “I’m old enough to pull my own weight as a fisherman.”

He accepts my hand and shakes it furiously. “You’ve got yourself a deal! I admire a lad that has mettle! Consider yourself a future member of my cannery team!”

“Thank you, captain!” I excitedly reply. Behind me, I notice Sirena and Campbell observing our strange behavior and begin to mimic our actions.

I only hope I was making the right decision.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Leaving Sirena and Campbell inside our new secret room with my own copy of the secret key, I manage to finish most of my tasks from sweeping the porch, tending to the garden and cleaning the water closet when Madame Dupont catches me and pulls me aside.

“Now Soot,” Madame Dupont informs me. “I understand the arrangement that Captain Pownall has made with you, concerning you living here.”

“Yes, mam.” I respond politely.

She eyes me, even more with suspicion. “Now Soot, I think it’s commendable that he hired you to be a gloried babysitter for his mistress, but I must insist that we rethink the terms of the contract in regard to your room and board here.”

I knew exactly what she was implying. The General Store that owned the shack I live in now never charged me rent because of its squalid living conditions. However, I’ve managed to change things inside over the years to make it habitable. Now the brothel’s owner was expecting to charge me rental fees to work and earn my keep? This was not right!

“Normally, the house takes twenty percent from the girls, but since you’ve faithfully worked for me for years, I’m only asking for twenty-five dollars a month. I think that this is only fair.”

Twenty-five dollars? That is more than the standard twenty percent rate! That is a quarter of my normal salary! I wonder if she is aware of the extra money Captain Pownall is offering me to watch over the two merfolk? I sigh and respond to her. “Yes, mam.”

“Good.” She grins. “I expect my payment at the end of the month, Soot. Don’t forget.” I watch as she retreats up the backdoor stairs.

I release another sigh, finish my tasks for today and head to town. To my surprise, I get a few greetings from the folks in town. Perhaps, it’s because I cleaned up a bit and look a bit more presentable. I head back to the shack, pick up my jar of money and whatever salvageable clothes I had and stop by the fishmongers. Purchasing two fresh pieces of cod, they kindly wrap it up in paper as I return to my new private quarters to meet my charges.

[ ](https://postimages.org/)

Already, I heard the smash of something breaking. I quickly slip inside to see Sirena and Campbell staring at a broken picture frame on floor.

“What did you do?” I ask the pair, acting like a disapproving parent to a child.

“He saw his face in glass.” Sirena tries to explain. “Thought enemy. He strike.”

I set down the cod on the end table and to check his hand. Thankfully, the merman’s fist had not been damaged. I release a breath and point to the counter where their food was. “Fish. Eat.” The pair remove the paper and begin munching on the cod while I clean up the damaged frame. After discarding the object, I finally address the pair.

“Look we need to set rules, boundaries, if we are going to live together.” I tell them.

“Rules?” Sirena asks me.

“Yes, rules.” I tell her. “A list of things that will protect and keep you safe.”

“Rules!” Campbell repeats, chewing on is bloody fish.

“First, no breaking anything.” I state. “We all have to live here, so I’d like to have things neat and clean so we can use them.”

“No break.” Sirena nods.

“No break.” Campbell mimics.

“Second,” I begin. “You have to wear clothes, so the town, I mean the humans, won’t know about you.”

“Clothes, understand,” says Sirena.

“Clothes,” Campbell agrees.

“Third,” I add. “No exploring without me. I can’t have the townspeople suspecting something is off about you two.”

“No exploring, I understand,” Sirena agrees.

“No exploring,” Campbell repeats.

“Finally,” I state. “This is really important. If you see other humans that are not me, Captain Pownall, or even Madame Dupont, do not approach or talk to them. It’ll only make them suspicious.”

Do not trust humans,” nods Sirena. “Who are not friends.”

Campbell nods as well. “Not friends.”

I think the merman comprehends some of what I’m saying but I only hope that he does not jeopardize his safety by revealing himself. The consequences might be devastating.

Pulling out the bundle of clothes that I had taken from the shack, I place it in front of him. “You need to wear these, Campbell. Those folks of Bristol Cove don’t take too kindly to the Indians.”

Understanding what my instructions, the merman began stripping off his Haida attire. Once more, I avert my eyes, trying not to glance at his bare form standing in front of me, his perfectly sculpted body just a few feet away causing me to blush and stir wicked thoughts in my head. I suppress such notions as she slips on the pants and baggy shirt as he pads barefoot around the room.

“Much better.” I reassure him. 

I grab the pile of remaining clothes and set it next to the iron stove while I attend to what was left of the discarded cod they had finished eating. Hearing my own stomach rumbled, I ordered them to stay put while I hoped to grab some dinner upstairs in the kitchen. Hopefully, Miss Christmas, had not gone home for the evening.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Night began to settle when I arrived through the backdoor. Miss Christmas had just finished serving some chicken and dumplings to the ladies upstairs and she began to finish the dishes for the evening. Thankfully, there had been some leftovers and dessert waiting for me.

“Thought you wouldn’t show up, Soot.” Miss Christmas shoots me a smile. “You usually are never late for my cooking.”

“Sorry, Miss Christmas,” I tell her, digging into my chicken and dumplings. “I got held up running an errand for Captain Pownall.”

Her face tilts in staring at me with a peculiar look. “You’re working for Captain Pownall now?”

“Yes and no,” I somewhat lie. “I’m trying to get in good with him so he can offer me a position for one of his cannery fishermen.”

Miss Christmas drops her rag to hug me. “That’s wonderful, Soot! You’re moving up in the world! No more working as a coal carrier!”

“That’s what I’m hoping for,” I answer. “Though I hope I can prove myself to him. He has not offered me the job yet.”

“You will, honey,” she says. “God always has a plan for those with goodness in their hearts.”

“I like to believe that,” I respond to her.

She lowers herself to my face. “I know it.”

“Speaking of Captain Pownall,” she begins. “Have you seen his mistress? She rarely eats anything I make for her and it looks like she is no longer in her room.”

I put a finger to my lips. “He’s putting her up in another place.” I fib slightly.

“Good,” Miss Christmas rolls her eyes. “That girl acts like the Devil has possessed her. She hisses and stares off into the wall. That girl ain’t right. Plus, what married man would put up with a crazy mistress like that?”

“Captain Pownall,” I answer.

We both laugh as I finish my dinner. I bid Miss Christmas goodbye and sneak back into my secret chamber. Already, Sirena has drifted off into sleep by the way her bedroom is closed. Campbell had decided to slumber on the floor in front of her door, like a loyal dog. I sigh and tell myself that I will teach him how to use the bed tomorrow. For now, I retire to the indoor washroom, shut the door as I draw a bath and strip out of my clothes to get in.

The warm water feels heavenly as I wash and scrub my hair and body with the lye soap and let my wet head lean against the rim of the tub. I almost doze off to sleep when I feel the presence of someone large padding across the floor nearby. I look up at too see Campbell observing me, examining me as if I was something to be studied. I grab a towel off the nearby rack to cover myself.

“Campbell! What are you doing?” In my fatigued state, I had forgotten to lock the door. He kneels beside the tub and touches the soapy water with his hands. His fingers gather the suds as he looks at it in awe and wonder.

[](https://postimages.org/)

“Water different,” he says, looking at me smiling. His piercing sea-blue eyes gaze at me.

I scrunch to the corner, splashing water on his arm, as I realize in horror what I had done. He was going to change. A few seconds passed, nothing occurred.

“Don’t you change in water?” I ask him, still attempting to preserve my modesty.

“No water different. Not sea. Need sea to change.” He tells me. Noticing his improvement in words, I fight through the embarrassment of my undress and kneel close to him.

“You’re doing better with English,” I remark.

“Sirena taught me more words.” He states. “I learn fast.” His eyes then focus on the dry redness and patchiness on my skin, the one across my chin and forehead, and the top of my hands.

“You like me. Same.” His fingers caress my dry hand.

“No, not like you,” I correct him. “I was born like this.”

His hands then touch my face, wet from the bathwater, as he strokes the lines of scabs from when I tumbled last night.

“You in fight?” He asks me. “Win fight?”

“No,” I smile. “I didn’t win the fight.”

Understanding what I said, he clutches my face with his strong hands and brings my forehead next to his.

“You will fight.” He tells me. “I help you.”

I finish my bath, instruct Campbell to turn around, which he does, and get up to towel off. After draining the tub, I quickly slip on back my long johns as I grab my clothes and lead the merman back to my bedroom. I point to the bed.

“You! Sleep in there!” I say to him. He stares at me puzzled. I point to myself. “Me? I sleep in chaise chair outside!”

He nods but instead of following my directions, he does the opposite. Lowering himself to the floor, he lays down.

“Sleep here,” he states. “Like ground underwater!” He closes his eyes.

Exhaling a breath, I toss my clothes to the side and get into bed. I’m nearly sleeping, when I hear the bed squeak and feel the presence of something large wrapping his muscular arm around me. A touch of my hair surprises me as I listen to the faint sound of his breath behind him, pulling his leg up to cover mine. I gulp nervously, knowing Campbell has trapped me into his embrace. Unsure of what else to do, I pray to God for my lustful thoughts and lie there guilty for enjoying the warmth of this body against mine.

I must admit, it feels nice.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soot takes the merfolk into town.

Campbell’s arm covers half my face. Slowly, I move it away as I scooch quietly out of the bed, trying not to disturb him. From the way the cock crows outside, I realize that it is morning. Sadly, the basement room we are all staying in doesn’t include windows. Hence, no indication of sunlight allows us to know the time of day.

I pick up my clothes, head outside into the living room, and shut the bedroom door behind me. Slipping into the washroom, I wash my face, apply gum paste to my teeth, and brush my hair as I finish dressing and head back to the living room area.

Seeing Sirena and Campbell standing in front of me nearly makes me jump out of my skin.

“I wish you would stop doing that!” I flinch.

“Do what?” Sirena asks me in confusion.

“Just surprising me like that,” I tell them. “It’s unnerving!”

“Sorry,” Sirena answers, genuine in her response.

“Sorry,” Campbell repeats.

I shake my head. “It’s okay. I have the day off. I figure we can go into town, get us some clothes, and food. Then we can go to the beach after.”

“Go to the water?” Sirena asks excitedly.

“Yes,” I reply to her.

“To water,” Campbell adds. “See the town.”

“We’ll see,” I say, unsure of this is a good idea. At least, I must try.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We leave the basement and head through the garden until we get to the main street. Since the townsfolks are just waking up, I figure now is a good as any to take care of our errands while no was around. Our first stop, the general store.

The owner, Mr. Robards, greets me as we enter the shop.

“Soot!” He greets me. “I didn’t hear you come back to the shack last night. Were you out all night?”

“I came home late,” I lie, not wanting to reveal that I had found another place to live. “I was trading some things with the Haida for some healing elixirs.”

[ ](https://postimages.org/)

Mr. Robards scowls. “I wouldn’t trust those heathen savages with their witchcraft potions! Castor oil and camphor leaves are the best American remedies, I tell you. The rest of it is all bunk!” He turns to the row of shelves behind him. “I’m sure I have some here to better heal what ails you.”

I politely hold up my hand. “Thank you, Mr. Robards, but I’m really here to stock up on some extra clothes. You wouldn’t happen to have some extra shirts and trousers, would you?”

His face tilts with excitement. “You don’t say.” He scans me up and down over my old clothes given to me by the Reeves. “You’re buying some new threads? Ones that are hopefully newer and cleaner?”

“Yes, sir.” I tell him. “But not all of them are for me, Mr. Robards.” I pull Campbell by the arm while Sirena looks through some of the merchandise, curious of the objects in the store. I present the merman to the owner. “This is Campbell, he is visiting from another country with his sister.” I lie to him.

“A foreign visitor, huh?” Mr. Robards examines him, noticing the old clothes and bare feet. “What country?”

“Spain!” I add quickly, again fibbing to conceal the truth from him.

“Spain,” Campbell repeats.

“How come no one has said anything about visitors?” Mr. Robards scratches his head. “You know how our town talks.”

I shrug. “They came in last night. Their boat was hit by a sudden storm and they lost their belongings. They rode into town looking for lodging. The Reeves offered them a room out of Christian kindness.”

Mr. Robards frowned. “Those Negroes are always taking away hard-working white folk’s money! Are they charging them for a room? The local hotel could use the business!”

I shook my head. “It’s a charitable thing.” I say. “And Campbell and his sister, Sirena, don’t have much money.”

“Figures,” he mutters in annoyance. “How are these foreigners going to pay for these clothes?”

“Actually, I am,” I tell him confidently.

“You?” Mr. Robards accuses. “But you’re a dirty orphan! Is Adelaide giving you a pay increase? Is that why you can get all highfalutin?”

At this point, I’ve had enough. Captain Pownall gave me a generous stipend to cover care expenses for me and the merfolk and I certainly can’t put up with a man who only has nothing but hatred in his heart. I inhale a breath.

“Look, Mr. Robards,” I tell him. “I appreciate that you let me stay in your shack but obviously my hard-earned money isn’t good enough to spend in your store. I bid you a good day and I’ll try the dress shop down the street. I’m sure Mrs. Boudine would gladly accept my wages.”

I drag a puzzled Campbell by the arm before the store owner stops me.

“Now, now, Soot.” He stammers. “Let’s not be hasty. I’m sure I can find some clothes for your gentleman friend here!”

This is when I respond to him dryly. “I need three new pairs of shirts, two sets of trousers, long johns, some socks, and boots for me.” I signal to Campbell. “He needs two shirts, pants, socks, long johns, and boots as well.”

“Coming right up, Soot!” Mr. Robards suddenly changes his turn. 

Within minutes, he is measuring our feet, shoulders, and legs. He heads to the back and brings out a stack of clothes and boots for me to purchase. I reluctantly pay him Captain Pownall’s money, but I just want my business with him to be brief. Once we grab our bundles, I gesture for Sirena to follow as we make our way down to Mrs. Boudine’s dress shop.

A plump widow in her sixties, Mrs. Wilhelmina Boudine immediately greets us the moment we enter. Next to the Reeves, she was one of the few townspeople that has ever shown me kindness and treated me with respect.

“Soot!” She claps her hands. She ruffles my brushed hair. “You’ve cleaned up a bit. I’m glad. What brings you to my store?”

“Hello, Mrs. Boudine,” I nod to her.

“Soot,” she frowns. “Call me Wihelmina! We’re friends!”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Bou…” I stop myself. “I mean Wilhelmina.” I introduce Sirena and Campbell. “These are my friends, Sirena and her brother Campbell. They’re new to town.”

Mrs. Boudine glances at the pair of merfolks and excitedly gasps.

“Vistors?” She puts her hands to her sides. “I don’t hear of anyone visiting our little town.”

“We’re from Spain.” Campbell blurts out without thinking.

“Yes, Spain.” Sirena repeats.

Placing a hand to her chest, Mrs. Boudine swoons. “Spanish guests? My, oh my! I feel so privileged! How can I help you all today?”

At this point, I step in. “Thank you, Wilhelmina. My friends lost their bags on their trip here. Sadly, they don’t have any clothes with them, especially Sirena. I already got something for Campbell at the general store, but we need dresses and girlish things for his sister. Can you help us?” I manage to lie.

“You came to the right store, Soot!” Mrs. Boudine smiles. She spins around and begins pulling out stacks out of dresses for Sirena to try on. “How many dresses do you need?”

“Just two,” I answer as I continue my fib. “They don’t how long they’re going to be in town. They’re on their way to visit family in Massachusetts.”

The widow claps her hands again. “They we’ll need simple dresses, maybe for riding.” She adds more items on the already made pile on the counter and then turns to Sirena.   
“Okay, sweetie, you can try these on.”

Sirena shrugs and begins to pull up her skirt. I immediately stop her as Mrs. Boudine nearly faints from shock.

“I’m sorry, Sirena,” I nervously instruct her. I point to the dressing room nearby. “You want to try the clothes in there.” The mermaid understands and goes in with the dresses.

Sheepishly, I apologize to Mrs. Boudine and come up with a feeble excuse. “It’s a foreign thing. They’re not accustomed to modesty and propriety.” I shoot the widow a smile while she shakes her head in disapproval.

Soon Sirena comes out in a frilly peach frock. She scratches her neck at the collar.

“Don’t like it,” she protests. “Too itchy.”

[ ](https://postimg.cc/cryjchZc)

Mrs. Boudine agrees. “You’re right dear. Why don’t ‘you try the next one?”

Sirena returns to the dressing room, while Campbell stares in wonder at the numerous dresses hanging in the shop.

“Why so many dress?” He asks me. “Only need one.”

“Women are different than men, Campbell,” I explain to him. “They need to look pretty.”

“That is correct,” Mrs. Boudine laughs. “How else can they catch a man?”

“Don’t need dress,” Campbell replies. “Already pretty, like Soot.”

Bewildered by his response, the widow ignores his remark and returns her focus back to the dressing room. Unlike Mrs. Boudine, I was deeply embarrassed. I could feel my face flush into a color of crimson.

Sirena finally came out in a blue ensemble. This one was much looser and appears comfortable. Even the mermaid agreed.

“I like this,” she smiles. “Reminds me of ocean.”

“I agree,” I nod. “We’ll take that.” I tell Mrs. Boudine.

The widow cheers. “It also comes in pink, if you prefer that instead.”

“We take both,” Sirena pushes. “No more trying on dress. I take blue and pink.”

“Pink and blue it is,” Mrs. Boudine doesn’t argue. “The customer is always right.”

“Also, add a petticoat and shoes and maybe some stockings?” I suggest, even though I know Sirena won’t wear them.

“Absolutely,” the widow excitedly answers, pulling the other items.

By the end, Mrs. Boudine has made a nice sale and we leave the shop and walk back to our secret basement area.

“I like her,” Sirena tells me. “She nice. Not like man from other store.”

I sigh. “Mrs. Boudine is a good Christian woman,” I say to her. “Not like many of the townsfolk of Bristol Cove. Not all humans are nice and good, but you already knew that.”

“Yes,” Sirena agrees. “Human killed my sister, but good Charles save me. Not all humans bad.”

“Soot is good human.” Campbell jumps in. “Pretty like Sirena.”

I blush. “Um, thank you, Campbell.” I reply to his compliment. “But we say handsome for men.”

“Then you handsome, Soot.” He tells me. “Like human men.”

Once again, I turn crimson.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We arrive at the basement room, to drop off the bundle of clothes. I convince Campbell to wear his new boots before we head out again to find food. We nearly pass through the garden when Miss Christmas surprises me.

“Soot?”

Startled, I gain my composure and face her. “Miss Christmas? What are you doing here? I thought you had the day off like me?”

“Madame Dupont offered me extra pay if I came in,” she informs me. “Apparently, she is entertaining a group of rich gentlemen callers who are visiting the town. Someone needs to cook and clean for them. Besides, Stanley and Abel have a busy day at the blacksmith shop. I won’t be seeing them all day.” Her face recognizes Sirena. She grabs my arm and pulls me aside. “What are you doing with Captain Pownall’s mistress? You know how people will talk in this town when they see her?”

I quickly think up a lie. “Here is the truth, Miss Christmas.” I fumble for an excuse. “But you have to keep this a secret between us, okay?”

Miss Christmas nods. “You know I can. We both work at Adelaide’s, remember? Discretion is the first rule of Madame Dupont’s.”

I begin my elaborate fib. “No one knows what Captain Pownall’s mistress looks like. He is planning on housing her in the next town over but needs time to move her. He is paying me to be her escort, to watch her and her brother, so he can find the right time to settle her in the new place. For now, I’m simply sitting them both. In exchange for my services, he is will set me up as a cannery fisherman once this whole ordeal is over.”

Miss Christmas raises an eyebrow. “You’re telling me this whole mess is Captain Pownall’s idea?”

“Yes,” I reply to her. “That is why I need for you to keep this quiet. You’re the only who knows what is really going on and why I have to sneak around.”

“But where is she staying?” Miss Christmas asks me.

“He has a private room set up in town,” I somewhat embellish my story. “I can’t tell you where it is. The less you know, the less you have to be involved.”

“Fine, I understand,” she sighs. “But be careful, Soot. You’re messing with forces beyond your control. I just don’t want you getting in the middle of a scandal if this whole thing is exposed.

“I know, Miss Christmas.” I reassure. “Trust me, I know what I’m doing.”

She rolls her eyes. “If you insist. Very well, do whatever it is you’re doing.” I watch disappear through the backdoor of the house, while I lead my merfolk friends back to town.  
Already, a few patrons noticed two new strangers being accompanied by the town’s dirty orphan walking passed shops and some of the Bristol Cove residents. Soon gossip began to spread concerning their identities. I stopped by the bakery to pick up some bread and cheese for myself when I noticed Tyler Plimpton accosting Sirena outside of the shop.

“Oh no!” I whisper in a panic. Grabbing my food, I dart out of the bakery.

“Leave her alone!” I demand the man to halt.

Tyler Plimpton glares at me and smirks. “Well, if isn’t the dirty orphan boy! Care to go another round?”

I recall how him, and his goons tossed me down the beach hill two nights ago. In no way did I want a repeat performance.

Tyler reached over and began stroking Sirena’s hair. The poor girl stared at him blankly, unaware of his evil presence and his intentions.

“My, aren’t you a pretty thing?” He smirks. “How about a kiss?” He grabs her face hard with his hand causing her to slap it away.

“No!” Sirena flatly states.

Undeterred, Tyler tries again. This time, I jump in.

“The lady said no!” I insist, getting in between them.

Not able to take rejection, Tyler closes his fits and backslaps me. I tumble, still clutching my baked goods, as I brace myself for the fall. Luckily, I’m able to my brace my topple with the support of my free hand.

“Stay out this!” I hear Tyler say. He approaches Sirena again, but Campbell intervenes.

I get up to see the merman hissing, raising up his palm and shoves Tyler clear back against the ground. He slams the surface, disgraced and embarrassed as he shakes himself off and begins to charge at Campbell. Readying his fists, he swings. Campbell grabs his wrist, holds it tight and squeezes.

A sickening crack echoes. Tyler clutches his arm, howling in pain, and his limb hangs lifeless. “You broke it! You freak! Do you know who I am? I’m going to get you back for this, Soot!” He glares at me as we watch him run away.

A crowd starts to gather, murmurs and whispers. I drown them all out as I pull Campbell and Sirena with me, unfazed by what just transpired.  
“Where we go?” Sirena asks, wondering why I was dragging them so fast.

“Fishmonger first!” I say, my voice in annoyance. “Then water!”

“Water?” Campbell asks.

“Yes, water!” I hiss. “You two already made a mess of things! I need some place safe to keep you out of trouble!”

I quickly head to the fishmonger and order two pieces of large carp and crab, get them wrapped in paper, and pay for them as I make the pair follow me through back alleyways out of sight. Locating the secret route to the beach, I lure the merfolk with the promise of food until we reach the secret beach far away from town.

Once alone, I unwrap the seafood and let them devour their meal. To my surprise, they can bite through the crabs’ hard shell as they ate both the carp and the shellfish before discarding on the beach for the tide to collect.

Sirena finished her food first, removed her clothes and dove into the water. Seeing her free and ethereal, she disappeared within the white-capped foam of the waves as both the sea and the siren became one.

Campbell, instead, waited by me. Sitting next to me, my knees pulled in, I broke off some my bread and cheese and began eating.

“Aren’t you going to go in the water too?” I ask him.

“Soon.” He simply answers. He watches tear off a piece of bread and stares at it. “What is that?” He asks.

“Bread,” I answer. “Human food. Want to try?” I break a piece for him, and he puts it into his mouth. He frowns and spits it out in disgust.

“No good,” he scowls. “Taste like soft rock.”

I laugh and continue eating. I certainly wasn’t going to offer him the cheese. He observes me enjoying my meal when his sea-blue eyes stare at my face. His fingers run through my dry, patched skin, finally finding the crisscross lines of scabs on my head.

“That bad human,” he referred to Tyler Plimpton. “He is evil?”

I nod sadly. “Yes.”

“Did he do this to you?” He questions me.

Again, I sadly nod. “Yes.”

“Then I kill next time,” he reassures me.

My mouth drops. “No, Campbell. No kill Tyler. Sure, he is an ungodly man, but killing is wrong. We don’t kill humans.”

“In water,” Campbell. “When we fight, we fight to survive. We kill if we must. This Tyler fight. He kill or I kill. Someone die.”

I exhale. “Even still, Campbell. No human life is worth killing for. I appreciate you protecting me earlier, but my job is to make sure you’re safe, along with Sirena. If Tyler hits me, it’s okay. I’m used to it. No one sees me. It’s my lot in life that God has planned for me. I’ve accepted that.”

“You say God?” The merman asks. “Who is God?”

“He is an all powerful being that we worship,” I explain to him. “He is someone that teaches humans to be good, kind, and compassionate. He is someone we pray to and offers us miracles. By believing in him, it gives us humans, faith that everything will be okay.”

“I understand,” Campbell replies. “The ocean, the water is our God. We listen. We ask. It answer.”

“That’s quite a way at looking it, Campbell,” I smile.

His fingers caress my face again. “You say no one see Soot. I see Soot.”

I blush at his comfort and reassurance. “Thank you, Campbell. That means a lot.”

Lowing his hand, he grabs my palm and places it against his chest. “I see Soot. I see Soot is beautiful. Handsome. Friend. I like Soot.”

[](https://postimages.org/)

“I like you too, Campbell.” I respond back. 

He releases my hand and I watch as he strips off his clothes and new boots. I do still look away to preserve his modesty. Soon his disappears into the waves, joining Sirena, as the pair vanish into the glistening sea. I watch and I wait for them to return, which won’t be for a while and ponder what Campbell said.

It’s true. I like Campbell. A lot. I’m afraid a little too much.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soot and Campbell become closer.

Night set in the moment we return to our basement dwelling. Captain Pownall meets us inside the room, which surprises me. I thought he would be out for a while, leaving me to watch over the merfolk. Immediately, Sirena runs to him when she sees him.

“Charles!” She smiles with glee.

The captain pulls her into his embrace and kisses her. Awestruck, Campbell observes their exchange in wonder over their union.

“Thank you, my boy,” Captain Pownall tips his hat to me. “For taking such good care of my beloved.”

“You’re welcome, Captain Pownall,” I meekly reply. Though my efforts today left me exhausted and spent. Right now, I just wanted to retire to my room.

Captain Pownall pulls me aside. “Soot, could you leave me with Sirena for a few hours? I want to spend some time with my ladylove.”

My lips curl in frustration. “But captain, why am I to do with Campbell? We’ve already explored the town today.”

“I’m sure you’ll think of something,” he winks. He slaps my back and pushes me out of the room. Campbell follows me outside as we march up the steps to the garden.

“Why he want be alone with Sirena?” The merman asks me.

I roll my eyes at him. “Captain Pownall wants to do some grown-up things with Sirena.” I explain cryptically.

“What things?” Campbell continues to probe.

“I don’t wish to speak of such scandal that might offend your merman ears,” I tell him. “Perhaps another time.” I grab his arm. “Let’s go back into town and figure out something to do.”

[ ](https://postimages.org/)

Annoyed and angry, we head down the main street, the village lit by night lanterns, until we reach the one establishment where rowdiness and debauchery occur at the edge of docks. Captain Pownall did say to show him the town. What more than the local watering hole.

The Bristol Cove Saloon.

Swallowing my pride, we enter.

Smoke fills the room from a few cigar chopping patrons, as I drag Campbell to a secluded spot at a corner table by the window. Some of the men hoop and holler at a card table nearby while a piano player tickles the ivories with something upbeat and fast.

“What is place?” Campbell asks me. He inhales the air and coughs. “It smells like the fire burning.”

“It’s a den of sin,” I cluck my tongue. “Humans need to drink their troubles away.”

Owner Old Man Harry notices us and approaches.

“Is that Soot?” He addresses me. “I’m surprised you would ever come here. You don’t seem the type.” He notices Campbell. “And who is this fella?”

“Harry,” I start. “This is Campbell. He’s visiting town. Thought I would take him out for a drink.”

Old Man Harry throws up his hands. “Hey! Any new customer is a paying customer! What do you boys want to drink?”

I’m not much of a drinker, except for the occasional wine that I’ve shared with the Reeves. Since I’m in a saloon, I figure why not? Let’s do what the regular bar patrons do.

“Two shots of whiskey!” I answer.

“Coming right up!’ Harry retreats to the bar to pour us two glasses.

“What is whiskey?” Campbell asks me.

“It’s a drink that humans do,” I tell him. “I’ve never had it, but it’s Captain Pownall’s money and he wants me to spend it on you. The saloon is a good a time as any.”

Harry drops the two glasses in front of us. “Drink up boys! There’s plenty more where that came from!”

“Thanks,” I say to the owner. I pay him the money that the captain gave me to cover our drinks while Harry returns to his other customers. “Okay,” I say to Campbell staring at the brownish liquid in my shot glass. Be brave, Soot. I tell myself. I grab the glass and down it. Liquid fire burns my throat as the bitter aftertaste nearly makes me vomit. I somehow manage to get it down. “Good God, that’s whiskey? It tastes like kerosene!”

“That means it’s working, Soot!” Old Man Harry laughs from the bar. “Want to try another?”

I raise my hand shake my head. “Thanks, Harry. I’m good.”

Campbell repeats my actions. As soon as the drink hits his lips, he spits it out. Wiping his mouth, he displays a sour face. “Whiskey bad! Taste like burning rock in water!”

“Do you have volcanoes underwater?” I ask the merman.

“What is volcano?” He responds, rubbing his tongue with his fingers.

“It’s like the burning rock as you describe but underwater,” I inform him.

“Yes, we have volcano,” Campbell nods. “That is what whiskey feel like.”

“Campbell, you mention burning like in fire,” I probe him. “You do know fire, right?”

“Yes,” he agrees. “Sirena taught me more words. I touch lamp when you in bath. I burn finger like fire. I heal now.”

I pull his hand to inspect the wound. He was right, the burn on his finger was gone. He was miraculous healed. Amazed, I noted this and kept it stored in my mind. This is something new I learned about merfolk. Healing.

Just then, I notice a group of men enter the saloon. It didn’t take me long to recognize the furious look of Tyler Plimpton, sporting a bandaged arm in a cast supported by a cloth brace. His enraged eyes shift toward us.

“YOU!” He shouts from the entrance.

Old Man Harry attempts to intervene. “Now, Tyler, I said you and your friends are welcome here as long as you don’t cause no trouble.”

“Shut up, old man!” Tyler snapped at the owner. He began marching to our table. Campbell notices this, stands up and hisses. This causes Tyler to step back and turns to his crew. “Get him!”

The six-man army rushes in our direction. A pair of hands grab me from behind, locking my arms as I watch another man attack Campbell with a swing. The merman catches his wrist and shoves him toward Tyler. The pair collapse into a group of barstools. Two more attack him on both sides, but Campbell tosses each of them like a sack of flour over Old Man Harry’s bar.

This left the one behind me pinning my arms and another grabbing a whiskey bottle at the bar and smashing it against the counter. Using the broken bottle as a weapon, he lunges. Campbell dodges, getting only nicked only on the shoulder, leaving the merman to attack. He slams his assailant’s head against the counter knocking him out cold. Seeing the last man standing keeping me imprisoned, the Campbell hisses, causing my captor to panic and release me. He raises his hands in the air to surrender.

A gunshot echoes in the saloon. Old Man Harry waves his revolver and points it toward the ceiling. He stares at me and Campbell.

“Now, Soot,” he threatens. “I know you’re a good kid, but no one is going to tear down my bar! Take your friend and go!”

I grab a hissing Campbell and drag him outside. Once we get out of the door, I could hear Old Man Harry yelling at Tyler Plimpton and his friends.

“The rest of you! Get out! I don’t care who you are, Plimpton, you’re no longer welcome at my bar!”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Up above the night sky, the moon bathes the heavens in an illuminous light. I lead Campbell to the secluded beach, away from the rest of villagers, and we sit on the beach to watch the rolling waves bring in the tide. Pulling my knees up, the merman sits next to me observing the glistening sparkles of water and the white seafoam forming waves and striking the shoreline.

Now alone, I roll up Campbell’s shirt sleeve now bearing a line of blood from where one of Tyler’s goons had nicked his shoulder with the broken bottle. Only a faint red line appeared. I was relieved that no serous damage had been done to mark his perfect skin.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” I remark, turning to the ocean and the moonlight rays sparkling across the surface of the waves.

“It handsome like Soot,” smiles Campbell.

I feel myself blush. I move my face to him. “Why do you say that, Campbell?”

“Because it true,” he answers with a childlike appreciation. “I think you handsome.”

I exhale. “You mustn’t say such things. I’m not pretty or handsome as you describe.”

He reaches over, caresses my face, and frowns. “It is because of marks?”

Pulling his hand away, I nod. “I was born with these marks, Campbell. These dry patches on my skin. They look like scales. I feel ugly having them.”

Campbell shakes his head. “Not ugly. Handsome. Special. Like me and Sirena. We are same.”

“I wish I could agree with you,” I reply. “But we’re not the same. You and Sirena are magnificent creatures from the sea. You’re born beautiful. Me? Not so much. I was born with these disfigurements and been cursed by them all my life.” My eyes look down at the sand. “I’m nothing special.”

Campbell cups my face with his hand. “Soot is special.”

“Thank you, Soot,” I say to him. “But…”

The merman interrupts me with his lips covering mine. The kiss is unexpected, and I shudder, frozen with my eyes wide open. He touches my mouth longer, feeling this sinful delight of enjoyment, but I fight my urges and push him away.

“No!” I say to him. “Why did you do that?”

Tilting his head in confusion, he blankly stares at me. “It is what I see Sirena do with Captain Pownall. She say kiss. Do you not like?”

“No, Campbell,” I protest. “It isn’t something that men do to each other. It’s wrong. Only men and women can kiss.”

“Why?” He probes me. “Men kiss right?”

I shake my head. “No, men don’t kiss. It’s morally not right and men shouldn’t share feelings like that with other men. It’s not something we do!”

“But Sirena say you kiss if you love,” Campbell defends his actions. “I kiss because Soot is love.”

I exhale. “No, Campbell. I’m not love, I mean, no one loves me. It’s something I’ve accepted. I’m an abandoned orphan who has survived through the worst of times. I’ve taught myself to not let my emotions cloud any of my judgements. That is why I build walls around myself. I don’t think I can love anyone. I’m never been given any. I don’t think I deserve it.”

“No!” The merman strokes my face. “Soot is love. I feel love for Soot.”

“You only think you do, Soot,” I explain. “You’re confused. You haven’t been with humans. You only like my company because I feed you, clothe you, and take care of you. That’s not love. That’s compassion, kindness, and human decency.”

“Soot wrong!” Campbell forces. “Soot is love!”

He pulls me towards him, holding me tight while his mouth covers mine. I attempt to resist but his body, his mere presence, forces me to close my eyes and submit to his kiss. Guilt, shame, and all my defenses drop as I allow myself to feel something for once. An emotion? It certainly isn’t love, but it feels warm and inviting enough to surrender to it. Removing all my inhibitions, I willingly give in.

My arms slip under his. Experiencing the muscular tone of limbs entwining with mine felt like home. It was peaceful, tranquil and heavenly. Pressing my fingers against the curve of his back, I inhale the scent of his skin, fresh and salty like the sea, while his hands lock around my spine pushing me even further toward him. I kiss his shoulder, press my cheek against his face, while his lips caress the nape of my neck. We draw away to catch our breaths as our foreheads touch one another.

“Soot is love,” he repeats.

“I know,” I simply say, still reeling from my bliss.

[ ](https://postimages.org/)

He lays his head against the soft sand while I rest mine against his chest. I massage his torso through his shirt as I simply look at him: beautiful, mythical, and mysterious.  
“Campbell,” I ask him. “What is it like in your world?”

“Beautiful. Peaceful.” He shares in simple words his world. “It feel good to be free under the water.”

I sigh. “I know. I wish I was like you, to be underwater in the ocean. To be one of your kind.”

His face watches me, and he strokes my cheek with the back his palm. “You are our kind.”

Pressing my head against his chest, I feel his arms holding me while the tide rushes nearby. I doze off for a bit, only to awaken to realization that it is getting late. I pull Campbell up and he takes my hand as I lead him back to our home.

Sirena greets me when we arrive. She informs me that Captain Pownall had left and I instruct Campbell to my bedroom to sleep. After entering the washroom to use the tub, I change into my long johns and once again get startled by Sirena waiting for me outside, as soon I finish my bath.

“Jesus, Sirena!” I gasp. “What did I tell you about sneaking up on people?”

“I’m sorry,” she apologizes. “I need to tell you first before I tell Charles.”

“Tell me what?” I wonder at her news.

“I’m going to have baby,” she blurts out.

[ ](https://postimages.org/)

My mouth drops. “How? Why? When did this happen?”

“I know about baby five months,” Sirena informs me. Again, my head spins.

“Five months?” I question her. “You’re not even showing!”

Mermaids different,” she explains. “We not sure until months later. We have baby not like humans. This baby of Charles is of land and sea.”

It certainly was going to be. Not much is known of a human, like Captain Charles Pownall, having a child that is half mermaid and half human. This was absolutely going to complicate things.

“I tell Charles soon,” she says to me.

“You’re going to need to!” I point out. “A baby is coming and, as the father, he has a right to know!”

“I tell him soon,” Sirena reassures me.

I cross to the chaise lounge, sit down and put my face into my hands. I couldn’t believe this was happening. One of the merfolk was expecting and none of us were prepared for its upcoming arrival. What were we going to do?

Sensing my anxieties and apprehensions, Sirens touches my hand. “Do not worry,” she says. “We find way to have baby. It will be secret. No one knows.”

I stand up. “They will know, Sirena! When everyone in his house hears a child cry, they will piece together that you’re Captain Pownall’s mistress. Then what? The town will know, and it will cause a scandal. Eventually, it will expose you and Campbell and the whole idea that mermaids exist. I don’t know how we’re going to protect this secret!”

Calmly, she embraces me. “It’s okay, Soot. You’re good. You will keep secret. You’re friend. That why Campbell love you like I love Charles.”

Gently, I push her arms away in embarrassment. “How do you know that Campbell feels something for me?”

“He tells me,” she confesses. “I’m happy. Soot is good person. Soot deserve love. Campbell love you.”

I slap my hand to my forehead. “But this wrong, Sirena. Human men are not supposed to be with other men. It’s ethically wrong and morally corrupt. It’s not possible for both of us to feel things for each other!”

“Our world different,” Sirena explains. “We do not know love. We just know mates. Women have babies with men and not have love. Tribe help raise babies. Some have mates but many do not. Mates different in water. Some with women. Some with men. We do not care. Campbell says he was mate with another man. Didn’t like him. They fight a lot. He tells me that his mate try to kill him and he almost die. That is why he came to land because he is hurt.”

I drop to the chaise lounge. I remember that night Powaqa and I discovered him, the gashes and the teeth marks on his body; did his mate do that to him? I shudder at the thought and feel only anger and concern.

“He choose you, Soot,” Sirena admits. “You are mate to Campbell.” She makes a gesture with her hands. “Bond is strong. You are his mate. You accept Campbell.”  
My face lowers into my hands. “I guess I have no choice.”

“You have choice,” she tells me. “You love Campbell. Soot is love for Campbell. Soot is mate for him. You take care of him. Keep him safe. You keep us safe.”

I glance up at her, taking in her wise words. “I will try,” I promise her.

“Good,” she smiles. Planting a kiss to my cheek, she finally retires to her bedroom.

After extinguishing the lanterns in the living room, I head into my bedroom to see Campbell sleeping on the floor. Not wanting to disturb him, I slip into bed and blow out the lantern near my bedside. Soon enough, I hear the squeaking of the mattress in the darkness and the large weight of the merman behind him. Like clockwork, he reaches over pulls him into his embrace as I feel the weight of his body against my back while he nuzzles my neck and keeps me close. 

“Campbell is love,” I sigh to myself. I slowly drift off to sleep.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I get up early to get a start on tending the garden in the morning. As I begin pulling the weeds and watering the plants, I notice Campbell standing outside near the fence staring at me. I panic.

“Campbell!” I exclaim. “What are you doing here? If Madame Dupont catches you…”

“Yoohoo!”

Too late.

Dressed in another of her silk robes, Madame Dupont heads down the backdoor kitchen steps and crosses into the garden. Her face shifts to the mysterious handsome man standing in front of me.

[](https://postimg.cc/zLgDx3H2)

“Do not say a word!” I tell him in a threatening whisper.

I bow to my employer. “Good morning, Madame Dupont, you’re up early this morning.” I cringe in my politeness.

“My, oh my!” She flirts, noticing Campbell. “A gentleman caller this early. I’m afraid, sir, that we’re not open just yet. But we will soon!”

“Madame Dupont,” I address her. “This is Campbell. Sirena’s brother. He just came in last night, I’m afraid. He’s staying with us in Captain Pownall’s private chamber.”

“I see,” she places a hand to her chest. “Another visitor.” She looks at me with a serious face. “Well, since you’ve taking in another boarder, I think that it is only fair that I charge an additional twenty-five dollars for your rent.”

“Fifty dollars?” I gasp. “But that is over half my wages!” I try to reason with her. “Madame Dupont, surely we can come to an understanding!”

“No, no, Soot!” She waves her hand. “Fifty dollars is only fair since I’m housing three people under my roof!” Her eyes then twinkle with something more devious. Her finger then runs across Campbell’s arm. “Then again, I could hire Sirena’s brother to help entertain clients. I do have an extra room still available and I’m sure there are some women and maybe some men with um, some proclivities, that would enjoy his company.” She purrs.

Campbell hisses at her. Madame Dupont suddenly jumps away.

Truthfully, I feel no remorse for her fear of the merman. I stand my ground and offer a different solution. “How about if you hire Campbell here as additional labor? I mean there is plenty to do to keep Adelaide’s running. He’s a foreigner and he is willing to be paid at half the cost of what you pay me. As you can see, he is quite brutish and can serve as a bodyguard to the girls here.”

The concept appeals to her. Paying him at half the cost and having a bodyguard on duty certainly was an attractive offer.

Madame Dupont twirls. “You drive a hard bargain, Soot.” She rolls her eyes. “Very well, this Campbell can be your apprentice. We do have plenty of things that need to be done at this house and you’ve been busy babysitting for Captain Pownall, it’s taking away from your duties. Besides, all the money is coming back to me anyway. Fine, you have a deal, Soot. Campbell can start today.” She strokes a finger to her lips. “But Campbell, if you ever change your mind about working upstairs, you know where to find me. I’ll be more than happy to show you the ropes.”

Campbell hisses, scaring her away. I watch as Madame Dupont runs back inside the house.

“She not nice to Soot,” he says to me.

“You’re right, Campbell,” I reply. “She’s not.”

“What is work?” He asks me.

“It’s what humans do to earn money to live,” I explain to him.

“I work now?” He looks at me in confusion.

“Yes,” I exhale. “You have a job now. Let’s get started.”

We begin by first entering through the kitchen back door.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something shocking is found.

Miss Christmas shoots suspicious eyes at Campbell the moment I lead him inside the kitchen.

“Who is this?” She asks me.

“This is Campbell,” I introduce him. “Madame Dupont just hired him.”

Miss Christmas flinches. “This is the new working boy that is going to help you?”

“Yes, Miss Christmas,” I tell her. “He’s also the brother of Captain Pownall’s mistress.”

[ ](https://postimg.cc/BtcB9qn8)

I could feel Madame Dupont’s servant shaking her head. She didn’t agree with her decision.

“Soot,” she clucks her tongue. “Do you how much trouble we’ll all be in if the town finds out that the brother of the captain’s mistress is working here?”

“I realize that, Miss Christmas,” I reply. “But Campbell needs a job and I can’t watch him and his sister all hours of the day. At least, he’ll earn some money and it’ll keep him busy.”

The woman put her hands to her sides. “How long is he going to be working for us?”

“I don’t know yet,” I tell her. “Captain Pownall hasn’t figured out yet where he’s going to house these two. For now, let’s just go about our business as usual.”

Miss Christmas rolls her eyes. “Fine, Soot. But if that boy causes any trouble, it’s on your head!”

“I know,” I sigh. “Believe me, I have a lot on my plate.”

“Speaking of plate,” Miss Christmas pulls out a platter of scrambled eggs, bacon, and a cup of coffee and sets them on the kitchen table. “I better set one up for the new boy too!” She sighs. Returning with a second platter, she places it front of Campbell along with some coffee.

We sit across from each other as Campbell watches me eat breakfast. He picks up a fork, shoves the eggs into his mouth and chews it for a bit before swallowing.

“Something wrong?” I ask him.

“What is this?” He questions me. “Taste like jellyfish but better.” He continues to consume the eggs.

Miss Christmas hears this and displays a puzzling look.

“I’m from Spain,” Campbell tells her.

I shrug to her and she accepts his answer.

Glancing at Campbell, I observe him as he surprisingly enjoys the bacon but not the bread or coffee. As he describes them as “soft rock” and “dirt from water.” We finish our meal and continue the daily chores for the day.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It turns out teaching a merman how to do basic human tasks was more trouble than its worth. After instructing Campbell how to change the coal in the iron stoves, he thought the best of way discarding the used charcoal was by dumping the pail on to the floor inside the room. I spent the next thirty minutes furiously scrubbing the blackened ash off the floorboards.

Still, it was nice to have someone to talk to. It made the day go faster. I guide him past the lobby entrance to the parlor where all four of Adelaide’s girls lounged around waiting for their next clients to arrive.

Upon seeing the striking merman enter the chamber, the quartet quickly arose from their seats.

“Oh my, Soot!” Miss Cindy fans herself excitedly. “You brought a gentleman caller to us! And a handsome one at that!” Her hand extends to him. “I’m Miss Cindy but you can call me anything!”

Not one to be outdone, Miss Marla intervenes and places a hand on his muscular chest. “I’m Miss Marla and I’m quite a specialist at what I do! I’ll be happy to show you around.”

“Not so fast!” Miss Mariah jumps in front Miss Marla. “I’m Mariah, sugar! And I’m quite knowledgeable in everything!”

Out of the blue, Sarah slams into Mariah, shoving her to the floor. “No, he’s mine!” She turns to the merman. “Hi, I’m Sarah! What do you want to do?”

Suddenly, Cindy grabs Sarah’s hair dragging her away while Mariah and Marla start wrestling and arguing in the parlor. Soon all four ladies began engaging in a brawl.

“What the hell is going on here?”

Madame Dupont enters the parlor, disgusted by the scene.

“Break it up!” She demands her girls. Humiliated, the working ladies separate. “What is the meaning of this? This is not how Adelaide’s doves are expected to act. Decorum and class are what we serve here, and I won’t stand for this kind of bickering and nonsense! Now who started it?”

All hands point to me and Campbell.

Madame Dupont rolls her eyes. She glares at Campbell. “I know you’re new and I will excuse you because of your looks, but you don’t you dare touch my girls! Just because you refuse to work upstairs doesn’t mean you get to sample the merchandise!”

A collective aww came from Adelaide’s working doves. The fact that this mysterious, good-looking stranger was in their presence meant that they and him were off limits. In a strange way, I had this feeling of relief that they wouldn’t be sharing his bed. I was. Call it jealousy, but I didn’t want to share him at all.

“Madame Dupont,” Cindy began. “You’re saying that this man is working here?”

The brothel owner nods to her. “Yes, Cindy. Campbell will be Soot’s apprentice. He’ll be doing some odds and ends around the house. And he’ll serve as our bodyguard if our clients get a little rough.”

“I wouldn’t mind having him doing some odds and ends with me,” Marla teases.

“Me too!” Sarah laughs.

Madame Dupont clucks her tongue. “There will be no hanky panky going on between my employees! Understand?”

“Yes, mam.” We all say in unison.

“I work with Soot,” Campbell confesses. “He and I are love!”

All the faces of the women in the room stare at me in shock. Embarrassment and guilt overtake me as I feel my face flush in a color of scarlet.

“I…um…” I stammer, trying to come up with the words. “What Campbell means is…”

Miss Cindy is the first to speak up as she smirks. “Why, Soot, you sly dog you! No wonder none of us strike your fancy! You’re not into women!”

Mariah folds her arms in annoyance. “Figures, you’d be a fop! Why a man would want to be sodomite is beyond me!”

“I think it’s sweet,” Marla giggles. “Our little, Soot, caught himself a fella! A nice looking one too!”

Unfortunately, Sarah didn’t share the same sentiment as she stomps her feet. “No fair! Even an ugly duckling like Soot got a pretty one! Why can’t I get the good-looking ones?”

“Now ladies,” Madame Dupont interrupts her girls. “We don’t judge here at Adelaide’s. Soot and Campbell are free to be lovers if they want, just not during working hours.” She shoots me a stern look. “Soot, what you do in the privacy of your bedroom is your business, but you and Campbell have work to do and I expect that they are completed before the end of the say. Is that understood?”

“Yes, mam,” I shyly nod. 

Grabbing Campbell, we head upstairs to change more of the stoves before overhearing Madame Dupont share a comment about the merman with her girls.

“It’s a shame, really,” she announces. “He could have made more money using his looks, but I guess he wants to waste it shoveling coal like that dirty orphan, Soot. What a disappointment.”

I beam with pride. At least, Campbell never had to sacrifice his dignity. That is one thing that the brothel owner can’t take away from him. As for me, this dirty orphan will be working for Captain Pownall in the future.

It’s only a matter of time.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Night finally arrives. I drag Campbell to the fishmongers to pick up his and Sirena’s meals. Wrapped in the paper, we head back home when I accidentally bump into a gentleman on the street and drop my fish.

“I beg your pardon,” the stranger politely apologizes. Dressed in a nice suit and bowler hat, I glance at him and notice the bushy mustache on his face. He glances at me then to Campbell, examining us like we’re some kind of specimens. He picks up the wrapped fish and hands it to me. “I hope I haven’t dirtied your seafood.”

“It’s quite alright,” I tell him. “No harm done. I can clean it off before cooking it.” In truth, Sirena and Campbell are not picky about their fish. They are used to eating living things that inhabit the ocean water.

“I was wondering if you could tell me where Adelaide’s is,” the gentleman asks me.

I sigh. Another gentleman caller for Madame Dupont. Why didn’t this surprise me that visitors wanted to locate the nearest brothel in town? I stand up and point to the right direction.

“It’s down this street and to your left.” I tell him.

“Thank you,” he tips his bowler hat to us and disappears down the street. I ignore the bizarre and exchange and take our secret detour back to the house.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Already sitting in the living room with this face in his hands, Captain Pownall watches us enter as Sirena strokes his arm to comfort him.

“I tell him about baby,” Sirena reveals to me.

[ ](https://postimages.org/)

“Good God, Soot!” The captain rubs his face. “A baby? How are we going to deal with this?”

“We?” I glare at him. “You hired me as a glorified babysitter. I don’t know anything on how to handle mermaid babies or if this child is even going to be a mermaid.”

“You’re right,” Captain Pownall slaps his forehead. “This is completely out of our element! The only thing I can think of is to set up Sirena and Campbell in a house in the next town. No one will find out!”

“Near the water,” adds Campbell eating his fish. Sirena joins him and eats her meal as well.

“Yes, near water.” The captain agrees with him. “Sirena won’t have her baby for a while. I just need some time to get them situated. In the meantime, Soot, you’ll still be handling their care.”

“Haven’t I always?” My voice drips in a groan.

“Right.”

Captain Pownall discombobulated answer did not give me any reassurance. He kisses Sirena on the forehead and goes to leave our private room.

“I will fix this,” he says to me. “I promise.”

Even in my heart, I still did not believe him.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next few weeks came and went. Sirena, finally, began to swell in her belly, indicating that she indeed was carrying a child. Campbell appeared to be learning fast and caught on to doing mundane tasks around the brothel, but still struggled with a few simple chores like pulling weeds and cleaning a water closet. Still, with a little patience and understanding, he began to comprehend and adjust to our human ways.

Captain Pownall continued to fail at setting up a private home in the next town over to hide Sirena and Campbell. With his busy schedule and the need to juggle two different families, I could tell the amount of stress and pressure he was under. However, that did not excuse the fact that there was a half human, half mermaid baby coming that he needed to prepare for its arrival.

As for Campbell, we stole kisses whenever the opportunity arose. We slept close to each other, holding and embracing well into the night until the morning came, but never once crossing into anything indecent. I relish being in his arms and feeling the soft tenderness of his skin, while his sea-blue eyes glances at me with deep devotion.  
It was something I never felt before. It was heaven.

I toss and turn in the blackness, reaching over to find Campbell gone. Fearing the worst, I reach over to locate the matches near the bedside table and light the kerosene lamp. Putting on a shirt and pants over my long johns, I carry the lantern into the living room to see the merman entering through the front door.

“Campbell!” I exclaim. “Where have you been?”

“Out to beach,” he says.

Worry overcomes me. “Have you been swimming?” I wonder. I notice through the dim light that neither is hair, or his clothes are wet, but then to my horror, I see a big red stain on his shirt. “Is that blood? Campbell, are you hurt?” I rush over to him to check for his wounds.

He grabs my panicky hands. “No hurt. Found others. Dead.”

My face turns pale. “Show me!” 

I extinguish the lantern and follow him outside. We head through the garden and I grab the shovel in case while we follow the secret path to the beach. Moonlight lights our path to the trees, as he stops near the steep hill where Tyler Plimpton and his thugs pushed me over. However, instead of making a right to the beach, Campbell leads me left further down to a row of a concealed path in the grove.

“We stop here,” he tells me. “Look!” 

He points to a pile of something covered in a shadow of leaves. I go to see what it is. The moment the merman reveals what they are, I nearly faint.

“Oh my God!” I gasp. “It’s Tyler Plimpton!”

Not just Tyler Plimpton, but all six of his goons. Bloodied and stabbed, it appeared they had been set upon by a wild animal. A large, human type creature. I didn’t want to admit it, but I had to ask the merman.

“Campbell,” I hesitate. “Please answer me honestly. Did you do this?”

He makes no expression before speaking. “No.” The merman answers. “I want to kill them. They hurt Soot, but I did not do it. Someone else. From my tribe.”

I scratch my head. “Another tribe? Are there more in town?” I ask him.

“I don’t know,” he responds. “But I know scent. This smell like the one I fight in water when you heal me.”

“Campbell,” I exhale. “The one you fought. Is he your mate?”

The merman shakes his head. “Mate no more. We no longer bond. I mate with you, Soot. We are love!”

My heart aches. I could feel the tears well up in my eyes. Without thinking, I kiss him, and he draws me in and holds me in his embrace. I wipe my tears and break away to deal with our current situation.

“We have to bury the bodies,” I gulp. “We can’t have anyone finding them!”

Campbell nods and follows me deeper into the woods. We locate a good place to conceal the corpses and start digging. Dirt and earth fly everywhere, as I spent what seem like an eternity to dig a deep enough hole. Satisfied with the depth of the grave pit, I have Campbell assist me in dragging each of the bodies and tossing them in the pit. We finally throw in Tyler Plimpton last and I began shoving the rest of the dirt to cover him and his goons.

“Rest in peace, Plimpton,” I say, finishing the dirt mound. “I hope you finally peace.”

The merman browses at my prayers and questions my actions. “Why do you honor the dead? These people no nice to you, Soot.”

“It’s my Christian duty,” I explain to him. “Even if they have evil their hearts, I can’t have hate for them. I can only forgive them for their actions. It’s up to God now to decide their fate in the afterlife.”

“Like ocean,” Campbell agrees. “We fight. We hunt. We kill each other. We cannot decide fate of people. Only ocean can.”

Seeing both us covered in dirt, I pick up the shovel and lead the merman back to our home. Dropping off the tool in the garden, we head inside the basement and light up another kerosene lamp and head for the washroom.

I shut the door, prepare a warm bath, strip and get inside the tub before the door opens to see Campbell observing me before shutting the door behind him. Soon he was doing the same and dons off his clothes as well before joining me in the tub. I pull my legs in, allowing my knees to touch my chest to accommodate his presence in the tub. Blushing at his perfect stark nakedness, I look away as I grab the lye soap and being scrubbing the dirt from my skin.

“May I try?” He asks me, seeing the soap in my hands.

“Sure,” I reply. I hand him the soap as he sniffs its scent, smiles and begins squeezing the suds around his well-chiseled chest. “This nice. Feels soft like seaweed.” He spreads the foam around his arms and hands, playing with the bubbles and the white froth.

[](https://postimages.org/)

“Here, let me,” I take control. I take some of the suds and wash through his blond hair, removing all traces of the dirt gathered from the forest. Dipping my hands in the water, I rinse out his golden locks while I do the same for mine. “Now you’re clean and all better.” I smile.

“Soot,” he says, touching my face. “You are good person. How can you not hate humans who treat you bad?”

I exhale a breath. “Because I want to die a good person, Campbell. I believe God put me on this earth to struggle, maybe as a test, to endure all the taunts and mistreatment as a sign of my faith that I’m kind and caring. I don’t want ever be something other than that.”

“What about letting yourself love?” He questions me. “Do you not let Soot love?”

I hesitate to answer. “I don’t know, Campbell. I don’t even think I can love.”

His fingers hold both sides of my face. “Soot can love. Campbell show you.”

Leaning in, he kisses me. I close my eyes, letting him mouth bruise my lips, caressing my teeth with his tongue, as the heat of our bodies nearly collide with one another. I release a breath before breaking away from him.

Turing my face from him, I focus on the rim of the bathtub now filled with dark, soapy water as I think up things, I want to say to him.

“Campbell?”

“Yes, Soot.”

“Tell me about your mate,” I beg him to tell me. “The one who possibly killed Tyler and those men.”

His sea-blue eyes gaze at me as he strokes my arm. “I had this mate long time in ocean. We men grew up hunting, finding food for tribe. But our bond not strong. Wanted something else. Something different. Campbell wanted to leave bond, but mate not want. We fight. Try to kill each other. Didn’t win, got hurt. Blood in water attract sharks. They attack. Got even more hurt. Got separated from tribe. Came to shore to heal but found myself somewhere else. Then found Soot. Soot is where Campbell want to be.”

“You want me to be your mate?” I attempt to understand him.

He nods. “You are Campbell’s mate. Do you want bond with me?”

Casting my eyes down, I shrug. “I don’t know, Campbell. I don’t want to hurt you but I’m not sure what I want right now.”

“You want Campbell, right?” He interrogates me.

“Yes,” I whisper. I could feel the tears coming. “Dear God, I do want you!”

The merman grins and pulls me close. Our limbs entwine, experiencing the sensation of wet flesh and skin touching. His mouth covers mine and I shut my eyes to feel each caress and stroke of his fingers and hands against my back, my arms and torso. In turn, I do the same, kneading and examining the sheer perfection of this mythical creature now holding me tight.

I lift my lips away as I glance to look at him. His mouth kisses my ear.

“Campbell, I’ve never been with man,” I confess to him. “Truthfully, I’ve never been with anyone.”

“Mating is different,” his voice growls. “But I learn. Sirena tells me how. I want to try with Soot.”

My forehead touches his. “Please. Let’s teach each other tonight.”

The merman agrees. Intimacy. Pleasure. Exploration. These are elements we both had to try.

Sure enough, we did, and it was well worth it.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soot examines himself and is given a gift.

The water has no direction, but shares its own bright grace, and drifts through multiple colors. How it flows gently, allowing the sun to fall from its golden throne, it dreams in soft tides and quiet murmurs. 

I dive through its vastness, its beauty collected in bubbles and float adrift in its mystery. Nothing left but the deep blue, the mute voices of the deep, and the peace of the enormous sea all around me.

It is then that I see them.

[ ](https://postimages.org/)

The merfolk. 

The mythical creatures, half-human, half-fish, swimming in colonies, leading me to their enigmatic world of the bottomless blue.

I follow.

I swim farther, listen to the siren song. Melodic, enticing, and seductive, the music is beautiful. It tells me to journey forward, to join with my brethren.

It is all I know.

I swim toward them, accepting the full knowledge of where I need to be. A strange familiarity overwhelms me. I finally realize where I am.

I am home.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My hair, still wet from the bathwater, feels the gentle caress of masculine fingers running through it, the moment I open my eyes. Sleep for me had been a glorious thing. Face planted against a drenched muscular chest, my hands stroking against his skin, I lift my cheek to see ocean-blue eyes glancing down at me. He smiles.

The sound of the cock crowing outside tells me the time of day.

“Good morning,” Campbell greets me. The soap from the water finally dissipated, leaving only a dark film of liquid filling the tub. I raise my awakened body up, spilling some of the water over the side of the rim, and turned to face the merman.

Shame and guilt appear on my face. “Campbell, did we engage in…I mean did we do something intimate?”

The merman grins. “Me and Soot. We love. We mate like in water.”

[ ](https://postimages.org/)

This moment of clarity from an amazing experience to disgrace and regret instantly took over. Leaping out of the tub, I grab a towel nearby, wrap myself with it and gather my clothes. Campbell watches me, mimics my movements, and does the same.

“You not like what we did, Soot?” Campbell interrogates me.

I sigh and shyly look at him. “Yes, Campbell. I enjoyed what we did last night. But it was wrong, and we can’t let it happen again.”

“Why?” He asks.

“We just can’t!” I shout at him. Sensing my frustration, he says nothing more.

I get out of the washroom to see Captain Pownall staring at me displaying a shocked expression on his face. Seeing me, wet, nearly naked but draped in a towel, he turns his eyes away in disgust. Adding further to my humiliation was Campbell exiting the same bathroom, also in a state of undress.

“Please put some clothes on, Soot!” He orders me.

“Of course,” I meekly reply. I grab Campbell and we dart into my bedroom. Tossing our dirty clothes to the side, I grab some clean long johns and put on a shirt and pants. I manage to locate the same for the merman who almost tried to wear the same bloody shirt from last night.

“You not want me to wear shirt?” He asks me regarding the scarlet stained clothing.

“No, Campbell,” I tell him. “Wear one that doesn’t have any of Tyler Plimpton’s blood on it. I’ll wash that one later. Just put on what I give you.” I toss him some fresh clean clothes and we both scramble to get dress as modestly as possible.

Within minutes, Captain Pownall shoots me a disapproving eye as he sits at the chaise lounge, while a pregnant Sirena munches on a fresh catch that he brought in. I point to the counter where more fish has been laid out and tell Campbell to eat.

“I see that your sinful, sodomite ways now extend to the merman,” Captain Pownall frowns. “Can I trust someone to be part of my cannery crew when they practice such immoral behavior? Do I want a pederast? A sodomite working for me?”

I glance down at my feet. “I’m sorry, Captain,” I reply. “I’ve made a lapse in judgement. I take full responsibility for my actions, sir. But I do beg you to not withdraw your offer of the fisherman position.”

Captain Pownall proudly stands up from the chaise. “And why should I not reconsider, Soot?”

Swallowing my fears, I argue my case. “I’m the only one that knows about the merfolk, remember? Sirena is with child and no doctor in this town is going to treat a mythical creature knowing that it was fathered by the town’s founder.”

“Why you little…!” His aggressive stance signals an automatic response from Campbell. The merman hisses and is about to charge but I hold a finger up to keep him passive in his position.

Captain Pownall notices this and sneers. “You’re back to blackmailing me then, Soot? Is this the game you wish to play?”

Again, I gulp. “I play no games, Captain Pownall. I’m simply stating facts. I’ve kept Sirena’s and Campbell’s secret for weeks and managed to not draw any attention to their existence. I’ve ensured that no one in this town knows anything and I’ve even had to bury bodies last night from another merfolk attack.”

Captain Pownall’s face turned from anger to concern. “What do you mean merfolk attack?”

“Campbell told me he found the bodies of Tyler Plimpton and his friends in the woods,” I explain. “He led me to the group. He said he captured the scent of someone from his tribe. A male.”

“Campbell say one of our tribe is now on land,” Sirena jumps in while eating her fish. “His old mate. He come. Kill humans. Now he’s missing on land. He might be still hunting.”

“There’s more of you?” Captain Pownall’s mouth drops and he slaps his forehead. “This complicates things even further. We have a killer merman and a town left unprotected.”

“And we don’t even know what this merman looks like or how to get rid of him,” I add. “Captain, I’m the only who knows anything. Leaving me out of this arrangement now will only make things worse.”

“You’re right, Soot.” Captain Pownall sighs. “I can’t trust anyone else with this secret.” He throws his hands in the air. “I give up! I won’t renege on my job offer! But you have to do some digging and find out who the merman is so we can stop him!”

“I’ll do what I can,” I say to him, just trying to appease him. In truth, I had no idea of what I was going to do.

Captain Pownall scratches his chin. “You mentioned earlier that the bodies you buried were of Tyler Plimpton and his friends?”

I nod. “Do you think their families would get suspicious?”

“Possibly,” he remarks. “But Plimpton was not exactly a saint. Even his father disowned him a year ago and cut him off, for all the troubles he’s caused for this town. Only his mother is still sweet on him.”

“She might be problem,” I suggest.

“Doubtful,” Captain Pownall responds. “She is part of the church ladies’ group. They’re always to busy with their Bible studies and preparing for Sunday services. She always turns a blind eye to Tyler and his activities.”

“Plimpton evil man,” interrupts Campbell, munching on his fish. “Try to hurt Soot. I fight him and his tribe.”

Captain Pownall cocks his eyebrows at me. “What do you mean fight Tyler Plimpton?”

I exhale. “On two occasions. Tyler was harassing Sirena and Campbell broke his arm and then there is the incident at the saloon.”

“You took a merman to a saloon?” He asks me with disappointment.

“You did say, take him out and show him a good time,” I shrug. “Why not Old Man Harry’s place?”

Captain Pownall shakes his head. “I’ve lost all control of this situation.”

“You certainly have,” I respond honestly. “Sirena is going to give birth in a few months. Is there some place safe we can hide her as well as Campbell?”

“Today, I’m negotiating a deal for a cabin in Lagoon Brooks,” he tells me. He is speaking of the next seaside beach town near Bristol Cove. “It possibly won’t be ready until next month. I was going to travel by stagecoach to look at it today.”

“Do you think that is wise?” I ask the sea captain.

“What choice do we have?” Charles Pownall tells me. “No one knows me there. The cabin is isolated. Sirena can raise the baby and I’ll still can visit her away from prying eyes of Bristol Cove.”

“And what of the merman that is on the loose?” I add. “How are we going to search for him?”

“Not we,” the captain corrects me. “You!”

“Me?” I gasp. “But I have to watch over the pair. I still must go to work for Madame Dupont today! I can’t go hunting for a merman who is disguised as a human!"

“I certainly can’t do the same!” Captain Pownall argues. “I’m the town founder! How would it look for me searching for a killer among the residents? Listen, Soot. I will grant you a reprieve from babysitting our two merfolks. I’ll take them along with me on this excursion to Lagoon Brooks, while you do some research on our mysterious killer.”

“Very well,” I reply in annoyance. “I’ll see what I can find out.”

Campbell crosses over to me, sensing my frustration. He strokes my face. “Soot, angry?”

“No, Campbell,” I reassure him. “I just have plenty to do today.”

His smile helps to improve my demeanor. “Campbell help?”

“No,” I tell him. “You and Sirena will go with Captain Pownall. You’re going to see another town where humans live.”

“Soot come to?” He asks, like a child tugging on their mother’s apron strings.

“I can’t,” I reply to him. “I have too much work.”

“Then I make Soot feel better.” Campbell answers. Leaning down, he grabs my face and kisses me.

From the corner of my eye I see Captain Pownall flinch, covering his mouth to prevent himself from vomiting, while Sirena touches her lover’s arm.

“Happy,” she tells Pownall. “Soot and Campbell mates. They are love.”

“I find their relationship repugnant,” the captain rolls his eyes.

“What is repugnant?” Sirena asks him.

“Those two!” He points at us.

We separate, and the two finish their meal before leaving with Captain Pownall to go on their adventure. In a few minutes, I do the same.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I meet Miss Christmas in the kitchen as she serves me a plate of johnnycakes and ham with a side of milk for breakfast. I dig into my meal, before she sits down across from me and observes me with worry.

“What?” I ask her, noticing her looking at me.

[ ](https://postimages.org/)

The Negro woman elbows her arm on the table and presses her cheek with her fist. “Are you happy, Soot?”

I swallow a piece of ham and sip on my milk. “Sure,” I manage to say. “Why do you ask?”

She inhales a breath. “I don’t know. I do my cleaning for Madame Dupont and hear things. Things from the other girls in this house. Lord knows, how these sinners love to gossip.”

Curling my mouth, I grip my fork and knife tightly. “What things?”

“Things concerning that new white boy,” she says. “Campbell? I’m surprised he’s not here today!”

“Captain Pownall is taking them into the next town to look at a private room,” I manage to somewhat lie. “He wants to set up his mistress and brother there.”

“Understandable,” Miss Christmas notes. “Can’t have your mistress and her brother running around the same town. People will talk, especially his wife and kids. Do you think she knows?”

I shrug. “It’s not something that I ask the captain. It’s not like I feel I need to discuss it with him.”

“You know,” she begins. “Back at the plantation in Mississippi, my mother was a houseslave that the master got her with child. My pappy never acknowledged me but let me work in the house alongside my mother. Mistress always knew I was her husband’s, so she treated me poorly. She’d beat me and abuse me until my face was bloody from her slaps or from the objects, she’d throw at me or hit me with. But not once did I feel shame for being born the way I am. I was born a Negro and I’m proud to be one!”

“That’s horrible, Miss Christmas,” I reply, listening to her story. “I can see why you; Mr. Stanley and Mr. Abel ran away.”

Her voice lowers to one of gentleness. “The reason why I’m telling you this is because I overhear Madame Dupont and the girls talking. They know about Campbell liking you.”  
My face turns pale. Quickly, I come up with an excuse. “Um, I like Campbell. He’s a good friend. A great buddy to have. He’s helpful, learns quickly and helps around the house!”

Miss Christmas lifts her brows. “Come now, Soot! You know what I’m talking about!”

“I don’t,” I attempt argue. In truth, I didn’t want to continue this conversation.

She reaches over and holds my hand. “Soot, I might not understand it, what you two share, but everyone deserves love. Campbell looks at you the way Stanley looks at me. Devotion, admiration, of course, love. It’s like you two are part of the same coin.”

I pull back my hand from her. “I know what you’re saying, Miss Christmas, and I appreciate it. I do. But these feelings, these actions are not what God wants. It’s a sin for a man to lieth with another man. Even the Bible says that. It’s what I was taught at the orphanage and what I know. I’m hoping these emotions I have for Campbell will go away!”

“Is it a sin for God to enslave the Negroes?” She asks me. “Is it a sin to kill, rape, beat and whip slaves? The Bible says many things and I know God has his own plan for all us but at the end, if we live life as good people, then that is all that matters.”

My face drifts down to my plate. I could feel the tears coming. “Then why is life so hard, Miss Christmas? I’ve always done the right thing, did what was asked of me and never expected anything in return. Now the one time I get to experience love, real love, it’s wicked and immoral. Is this God’s plan for me? Is this how I am to leave this world? A sinner who won’t repent for loving someone the world thinks is wrong?”

“Oh Soot,” she whispers. She comes over, holds me into her embrace while I sob into her shirt. “Only God can answer that, love. You were never given love as a child and perhaps this His way of repaying you. Lord knows, how you struggled like the rest of us. You are a good person, Soot. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. And don’t let this love that you have for Campbell make you feel ashamed or less than anything. For once, walk toward it and live it. You’ll regret it if you don’t!”

I lift my head away from her. “But what would the rest of the town think if they all find out?”

“Hold you head high and pay them no mind!” She advises me. “These white folks need to mind their own damn business, thinking they’re all high and mighty! They ignore us decent, working folk. You, because you’re an orphan and, me and my family, because we’re Negroes! They are the worst sinners, let me tell you! They might go to church on Sunday, but come Monday it’s back to cheating, gambling, and visiting Adelaide’s. So much for following the Bible’s teachings.”

She releases me and plants a kiss on my head. “Soot, I’m happy for you. I am. Now please be happy for yourself.”

Wiping my tears, I finish eating and start my choirs. I only wish I would follow her advice.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Without Campbell, I felt I was doing double duty. After changing all the iron stoves of the house, I headed to the garden to take care of the weeds and flowers before going back inside to clean the water closet. In addition, Adelaide’s doves had made quite a mess in the parlor so it was my job to clean out the discarded dried bouquets left behind from the ladies’ suitors, their empty wine glasses on the tables, and their remaining crumbs of cookies and sweet treats they had consumed inside the room.

Upon finishing the dusting, sweeping, and collecting of daily trash, Madame Dupont stops me by the lobby.

“Oh good, Soot!” Madame Dupont waves to me. “I just want to remind you of your monthly rent!” How could I forget? The woman practically bleeding money out of me. “Don’t forget to give that $50 for month!”

“Of course, Madame Dupont,” I manage to smile.

“Oh, one more thing,” she adds. “One of my gentleman callers told me to give you this!” She reaches into her robe to hand me an old sea faring journal. “He said that you might like it. He wanted to thank you for directing him to our little place of business.”

[](https://postimg.cc/zLgDx3H2)

“Thank you,” I reply to Madame Dupont. Though I’m confused by this stranger’s gift. I had to ask. “What did he look like?”

“A bizarre little man,” she claps her hand attempting to remember. “Old suit, mustaches, and wore a bowler hat. Do you know him?”

I recall the encounter with the man last night. The one I bumped into. I had no idea why he would gift me an old seafaring journal.

“Anyway,” Madame Dupont squeezes my cheek with her fingers. “Thank you for giving out some business to visitors in town. Adelaide’s appreciates it.” She releases her hand.   
“Now don’t forget your rental payment.”

“I won’t, Madame Dupont,” I tell her. I slip the journal inside my back pocket and finish up my chores for the day.

As much as work keeps me busy, my mind still drifts to this journal. Exactly, why was I given it?

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was late afternoon when I finished work. Racing to the private basement, I collected the fifty dollars and found Madame Dupont in the parlor. I hand her the money.  
“Oh goody!” She claps her hand. “Your first rental payment. I hope everything is going well with Sirena and Campbell.”

“I’m managing, Madame Dupont.” I somewhat fib. “It’s a lot of work but I’m handling it.”

“I’m sure it is,” the Adelaide’s owner remarks. “I don’t know how Captain Pownall expects one person to act as an escort to two foreigners. If you ask me, Soot, you should ask for more money or a better position. You work way too hard.”

She didn’t know the half of it. Between juggling two merfolk, hiding bodies, and searching a killer merman on the loose, my life had become a confusing mess of chaos. The only light at the end of this dark tunnel was the promise of a job as a cannery fisherman for the captain.

Crossing to a hidden shelf at a corner end table, I watch as Madame Dupont removes a key from her robe to open a locked cabinet. Inside, a stack of cash is displayed as she places the money inside and locks it up again. I turn away to leave before she flags me down.

“Yoohoo, Soot!” She waves at me again. “Don’t forget to clean out the gutters on the roof tomorrow and can you get my packages at the post office too?”

“I will, Madame Dupont,” I shift my back to her so I can roll my eyes. Even when the day has ended, she still insists on having me work.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With evening approaching, I head into the local restaurant for dinner.

The Anchor.

A local eatery near the docks, the Anchor has served breakfast, lunch, and dinner to all the residents of Bristol Cove. A landmark of the town, many of the local folk gather there to the establishment to enjoy a hearty meal and to gossip among themselves.

As soon as I take a seat, I instantly notice the whispers behind my back.

“Is that Soot?”

“The dirty orphan?”

“What’s he doing here?

“At least he cleaned up.”

“Doesn’t he work for that notorious Adelaide Dupont?”

“They say he’s a Negro lover. He’s always talking to those blacksmith shop owners!”

“I can’t believe he’s here!”

“He should know his place!”

The last remark hit me hard, but I hold my head high as Miss Christmas suggested and wait for my server.

A sweet waitress named Millie greets me. “Soot? Can’t believe you’re finally coming in.”

“I’ve saved my pennies,” I reply to my server. “I figure I would treat myself to a meal.”

“I’m happy that you’re here,” Millie smiles. She leans into me to whisper. “Don’t pay the rest of these folks no mind. They’re just jealous that you work harder than them.” This made me feel better. “So, what will you be having tonight?”

I glance at the menu and make my decision. “Pan fried steak with potatoes and vegetables and I’ll take a glass of wine.”

“Going fancy, I see,” Millie teases. “Coming right up.”

I enjoy my dinner, despite everyone making snide and rude comments around me, and was enjoying my wine when an older woman in her fifties approaches my table. From her simple bonnet around her neck, gingham colored dress and the cross that she wears, she appears to recognize me.

“Soot, is it?” She addresses me.

“Yes,” I tilt my head to identify her. “I’m sorry, mam, but do I know you?”

“I’m Eleanor Plimpton,” she answers. “I was hoping to ask you if you’ve seen my son, Tyler?”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Plimpton,” I say. “I can’t say that I have. We don’t run in the same circles.”

The older woman sighs. “I know, Soot, that my Tyler can be handful. He’s a bit rambunctious but he always pays me visit every day. He didn’t last night, and the saloon owner said that you and he got into a fight.”

I correct her. “More like he got into a fight with many of the patrons.” I lie to her. “You know he’s not exactly well liked by the townsfolk.”

Mrs. Plimpton scowls at me. “You take that back, Soot! My Tyler is a good boy, but God sometimes puts obstacles in his path to make him learn valuable lessons.”

“Like sending a group of his thugs to rough me up,” I point to the fading scars on my face the night they threw me down the steep hill close to the beach. “Yes, your son is the epitome of what God is teaching him!”

“You are a rude man, Soot!” The older woman shouts at me. “My Tyler would not partake in such activities! No wonder the town doesn’t respect you! You’re nothing but a vagrant ragamuffin who doesn’t belong in Bristol Cove!”

I smirk in return. “Thank you, Mrs. Plimpton. You also forget dirty orphan but again you’re forgetting your Christian duty to insult me while I’m enjoying my dinner. Then again, you’re no Christian!”

“You’re a horrible man!” She seethes. “Wait, until my husband hears about this! A pauper working in a whorehouse insulting me! Why, I never heard of such a thing…”

“Pipe down, Eleanor!” Millie came to my rescue. “You paid your bill! You can leave now!”

Huffing and puffing, Mrs. Plimpton closes her fists and marches out of the restaurant. Once she had gone, Mille turns to me.

“You okay, Soot?” She asks me with genuine concern.

“I’ll be fine, Millie.” I reply to her.

For the first time, I begin to believe that everything would be okay.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soot starts to read the sea captain's journal.

Night finally came. A crescent moon appeared in the sky when I left the Anchor. I walk down the main street to the old shack of my former dwelling, only to bump into Mr. Robards closing the general store for night.

“Soot!” The owner acknowledges me. “Haven’t seen you return to the shack in a while. Is everything okay?”

“Everything is fine, Mr. Robards,” I tell him. “I’ve been staying with friends in town. That is why I haven’t been sleeping here.”

“You haven’t been staying with those Negroes or those Indians?” He frowns. “You need to stick with your own kind!”

His words are appalling. Not only did this man exhibit such hatred for good, decent folk but my “own kind” as he refers them to never shown me an ounce of kindness or compassion since coming to Bristol Cove. I doubt that anyone should care who I choose to associate myself with.

“Thank you for the suggestion, Mr. Robards,” I lie to man to appease him. “But I’m fine.”

“Just remember,” Mr. Robards tosses another word of advice to me. “God is watching, and He knows what sins you’re doing, Soot! Getting close to a Negro or a savage is wrong in the eyes of the Lord!” With that said, he turns on his heels and marches off to home.

“And judging others based on their appearance is just as wrong in God’s eyes, Mr. Robards,” I venomous blast back, as I watch him vanish into the night. I shake my head at his ignorance and head inside.

Maneuvering in the dark, I find the oil lantern that I usually keep hung on the wooden post and light it. Immediately my eyes turn to my old haunts. The dirty, rusty bed against the wall, the rotted iron stove in the corner, and the broken window covered by a tattered quilt. I take a seat on the filthy mattress and observe the ancient wood planks and broken boards. Compared to my nicer accommodations of Adelaide’s basement, this old place reminded me of who I used to be. 

Broken, lonely, sad, accepting my fate for Death to come. Now I had moved on to something better. I had found purpose, a goal, a possibility of a future. More importantly, I believe I found love.

My mind returns to Campbell. His chiseled jaw, handsome face, and tendrils of wet, blond hair. His sea-blue eyes always glancing at me with such devotion and care. For once it felt good to be needed, accepted, and loved. I don’t ponder on this too much as I feel the pressure of something small in my back pocket. I remove the item to examine it.

A sea-fairing journal.

The one the stranger gifted me. Under the light of the lantern, I open it and read the first page.

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[](https://postimages.org/)

February 1849

This is my first entry as an official wickie for No Man’s Island, a desolate piece of land in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean near the Virginia Coast. My name is Captain Alexander Gruner, formerly sea captain for the schooner, The Maiden Queen. 

I face my guilt as a disgraced captain for The Maiden Queen and my part in the deaths of 200 of my crewmen. Nine years ago, I charted the ship out to sea in the Pacific to the island of Hawai’I, carrying on board both American seamen as well as a few European officials. A heavy storm hit, forcing us to crash onto a reef near the island coast.

With no choice and not enough lifeboats, I ordered the 200 members on board onto six lifeboats fitting about 10 each inside the six boats, myself included. The rest herded into makeshift rafts. Knowing full well that not everyone would survive, I made the difficult decision of cutting the ropes attached to the rafts to save of the lives of the 60 that made it off the ship.

The storm was heavy and many of the rafts disappeared among the huge waves. I watched in horror as much of the crew drowned or became swept up into the water.  
I defend my actions stating I needed to protect those that were able to survive until we are rescued, but the courts didn’t see that way. For next 10 days, we drifted aimlessly, starved with famine, diseased, and thirsty. Many perished or succumbed to the madness of the sea.

I’ve seen the horrors of man resorting to suicide, killing others and some resorted to cannibalism. Out of the 60, only 10 remained before help arrived and a rescue ship found us. But my troubles didn’t end there.

The highest courts found me guilty of “cowardly evacuation” and “disgraceful abuse of power” and court martialed me for my actions. But I argue that my decisions were to save a few since it wasn’t possible to save the entire crew. They didn’t agree. I was sentenced to a year in prison and stripped of my title and banned from manning another ship again.  
Now I am nine and fifty years, finding lonely employment as a lighthouse keeper on No Man’s Island. Perhaps this is my penance that I needed to serve for all the deaths that caused. In either case, I am alone.

-Captain Alexander Gruner

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March 1849

The days on No Man’s Island are lonely. A boat stops by to bring me monthly supplies and news of what is happening in Virginia. New railroads are being built in Richmond, connecting to Washington D. C. These is exciting time for the world to travel by land, but the sea will always be my first love.

I am told of a slave revolt that was quelled. Truly, these uppity Negroes still haven’t learned their place. We brought them in to service to the White Man, but due to the negative influences of those bleeding-heart abolitionists, they are starting to rebel. What is next, an Indian savage teaching them to pilot a schooner? The world has gone mad!

I spend my days getting over the loneliness and boredom keeping busy with mundane tasks. I trim the candle wicks, replenish fuel, wind the clockworks, and perform maintenance such as cleaning the lenses and windows of the lighthouse. Furthermore, I handle the fog signal during foggy conditions for passing ships and heavy storms, as well as act as a primary weather station for boats nearby.

I manage to occupy my mind with painting and charcoal drawings. The lines and colors distract me as I think of nothing but sketching the waves and boats, I see close to the shore. At times, I’ll even use my telescope to capture an image through memory and try to come up with detail sketch. It certainly keeps me focused.

Along with my drawings, I have brought a stack of books. Hawthorne, Melville, and Dickens are my favorites. I’ve read them several times, always filling my mind with escapes to faraway lands. Moby Dick Is one I’m particularly obsessed with. Hawthorne captures whaling and the sea with such precision that I long for the days when I use to captain a ship out to sea.

Hopefully, I’ll get it do it again.

-Captain Alexander Gruner

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The words of this Captain Gruner I find sad and depressing. Though I can relate to the struggles of isolation, I can’t help but blame the man for the disgrace that he had brought upon himself for causing the deaths of his former crew members. I skip a few pages ahead and continue to read.

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June 1849

The loneliness is beginning to pay a heavy toll on me. I no longer feel the need to read my books or do my drawings. Every day after I finish my chores, I go down the stairs and stand in front of the rocky shoreline to see any ships willing to dock on my island.

No one.

All I see and hear is the roaring of the waves before the strange song echoes in my ears. It’s beautiful, mysterious and alluring. I wonder where it comes from. I walk around the island to follow it, but I find nothing.

Still it haunts me. This wonderous song. Someday, I’ll find it and discover its secret.

Until then, I still dream.

-Captain Alexander Gruner

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The song? The same one from the Sirens? I couldn’t help but to wonder. I skip on further ahead in the journal and read on.

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December 1849

I’ve lost hope. Life has no meaning. The days of loneliness now has driven me mad. I see no purpose in this life. I constantly hear the song, follow to where it leads, which is nothing.

I see the knife that use to cut my vegetables and meat and think about using it on me. Ending it all would be better than this isolation, this prison that I’ve set up for myself on this island.

The storm outside is brutal. Rain pours down, beating against my window as thunder and lightning crash outside. I want to join it, casting myself against the waves, to finally find the peace that I crave. Then it happens.

The song.

It plays in my ear, beckoning me to follow up. I grab my raincoat, sea hat, and galoshes and head outside. I follow the song. It gets louder. Slowly, I hear it.  
I look down through the storm and rain pelting me when I finally see it. Half woman, half fish. Caught in between the reef below, bearing a bloody gash in its tail.

Can it be? Can it be the sea maiden of the sea?

I believe my eyes deceiving me. I make my way down to see her. Her body not moving, changing in front me. Water splashes but barely a drop of the ocean touches her and then she transforms.

From mermaid to human. Her flesh naked and female, bearing a bloody gash on her thigh. I fight through the rain, slip my arms to carry her. She does not move while I make my way through the jagged rocks and take her inside the lighthouse.

To say that such a creature exists is quite a shock. I don’t know if I’m going mad and this is a dream.

But it is a pleasant dream at that.

-Captain Alexander Gruner

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I finish reading, shutting the journal as I ponder Captain Gruner’s words. He admittedly reveals he discovered a mermaid. This proves that there are more outside of the waters of Bristol Cove. Virginia? How far does the tribe extend? I think about this for moment before I notice that sky outside is getting darker.

It was time for me to head back home. Putting the journal away in my back pocket, I extinguish the lantern and leave the shack.

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Captain Pownall meets me as soon as I arrive. Sirena and Campbell feast on another set of raw fish as the captain ignores them and turns to me.

“You’ll be happy to know I bought the cabin, Soot,” he announces. “Next month, we can move Sirena and Campbell there and get them settled.”

“That’s wonderful, Captain Pownall,” I reply, unsure if I really wanted Campbell to go.

“Any luck on finding our killer merman?” He asks me.

I shake my head. “Not yet. I haven’t seen anyone acting strangely.”

“Hmm,” the sea captain scratches his beard. “He can’t be too far. A merman who doesn’t speak our language and does know how to interact with humans is bound to get everyone’s attention.”

“True,” I agree. “But I haven’t come across anyone acting out of the ordinary today.”

Captain Pownall inhales. “Then, I suppose we have to wait. This merman can’t be too far from the town.”

“How did Campbell and Sirena do in Lagoon Brooks?” I wonder.

“Quite well,” the captain responds. “They acted very human. No one suspected the wiser.”

“We pass for human,” Sirena nods eating her fish.

“We human now, Soot,” Campbell agrees also munching on his food.

“Let’s hope they can keep up the appearance,” I add. “Captain, there is something of concern that did occur while you were gone.”

“What?” He asks with worry.

“It’s Mrs. Plimpton,” I inform him. “She’s prying on her son, Tyler’s disappearance. She confronted me at the Anchor tonight.”

“What do you say?” He probes.

“Nothing,” I answer. “I confidently told her I knew nothing of Tyler’s whereabouts. She didn’t take too kindly to my explanation.”

Captain Pownall scratches his beard again. “She might prove troublesome, but I wouldn’t too much about it. Eleanor Plimpton is a bit of gossip hound. She’ll tire of her queries and go back to doing her Sunday church services.”

“Even still,” I point out. “Shouldn’t we have another strategy if she tries to pursue this?”

“Leave that up to me, Soot,” Captain Pownall advises. “I’m close friends with her husband, Mortimer. He’ll set his wife straight.”

“I hope so,” I say. “I’m hoping they never find those bodies we buried in the far end of the forest.”

“They won’t,” the captain emphasizes. “I’ll make sure of that.” He turns to kiss a pregnant Sirena good night and starts to leave the room. “Soot, it’ll work out in the end, I promise.” He reassures me before exiting through the door.

I didn’t believe him.

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It was late and it was time to turn in. Sirena went back to her room, while I extinguished the last of the kerosene lamps in the living room. Campbell follows me to my bedroom and begins to strip fully bare before getting into bed.

[ ](https://postimages.org/)

Embarrassed, I began to look away. I know I’ve seen him without clothes, but years of religious shame and guilt still weighed heavily on me. I remove mine, keeping my long johns on while setting Captain Gruner’s journal next to the nightstand. I soon join him in bed.

I turn my back and rest my head on the pillow, feeling the weight of Campbell’s body next to him, as he caresses my neck.

“Soot is Campbell’s mate,” he states.

In a strange way, it’s true. I had become the merman’s mate. I remember what Miss Christmas told me, that I deserved love. Inside I wanted to believe it and suppress these feelings, but then I recalled Captain Gruner’s writings about the loneliness and isolation driving him mad. I didn’t want the same to happen to me. I was finally going to give in to my emotions.

Shifting my body, I face Campbell and stare at his sea-blue eyes looking at me. His breath is close and feel the warmth of him near me.

“Campbell?” I ask him.

“Yes, Soot?” He answers, his mouth unchanging to neither a smile nor a frown.

“Why do you choose me as your mate?” I probe him.

“Soot kind. Soot compassion.” He manages to say. “Soot love.”

I release a sigh. “But I’m not beautiful or handsome like you or Sirena.” I state. “Your people are magnificent beings that deserve humans who look like you. Why me?”

His fingers caress my cheek, going over the reddened dry patches of skin, pulling up the tiny flakes of flesh. Focusing on my nose, he plants a kiss as well as the same one on my forehead.

“This skin,” he says. “One you no like. You hate. It’s part of you. It’s part of water. You are part of me and part of Sirena. You, we are the same.”

“What does that mean exactly, Campbell?” I push. “I’m human. I’m not a merfolk!”

“You are part of sea, part of water,” he tells me. “You not know you are part of ocean.”

His cryptic words didn’t bring me any comfort. I couldn’t understand what he meant by being part of the ocean or the sea. I was merely Soot, a dirty orphan with no parents and no family. How can a merman know what a human is? They’ve never been around too many of us.

Campbell touches his bare chest. “Soot to me more than mate. Soot to me is love.” Reaching for the back of my head, he pulls me towards him. Our mouths connect and I close my eyes, experiencing the wonderful sensation of his kiss.

Strong hands fumble for the buttons of my long johns and I easily slip them off, allowing our bare forms to touch, as we held, caress and explore each other all night.

The merman pauses for a bit to take a glimpse at me. “You want to mate, Soot?”

Nervous, I shyly nod. Tonight, I was going to do something wicked and daring that felt natural and right. I was going to be with Campbell.

Our bodies meld, becoming one. It felt like water. Peaceful, tranquil, and flowing. I sink in and swam through the abyss to realize where I needed to be.  
Here. In this bed. In his arms.

“Soot is love?” Campbell whispers in my ear, while kissing my neck.

“Yes, Campbell.” I reply capturing his mouth. “I love you.”

This time I meant it.

[](https://postimages.org/)

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Time slows for me. With this knowledge, I spin, feeling the power of the water all around me. All in gratitude to the merfolk, strangers but family, keeping me in their embrace, and welcoming me with their arms and fins wide open.

Not all the humans have been kind toward me. They are ignorant creatures, born from a world where belief in such mythical beings are told in fairytales and ocean lore. Where the babies are sired by sailor fathers, left behind on land, waiting to be claimed. Yet, no one sees them, only to have them vanish away from the sea.

I swim, down deep below, away from the light and the torches of the sun or the half-moon, into the world where a familiar song plays in my head and net of warding magic brings me forth to claim it.

It is beautiful. It is alluring.

It is home.

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AUTHOR’S NOTE: THE DISGRACED SEA CAPTAIN’S STORY IS BASED ON A TRUE CASE CONCERNING THE SINKING OF THE MEDUSA IN 1815. CAPTAIN HUGUES DUROY de CHAUMAREYS WAS BROUGHT TO TRIAL BY THE FRENCH COURTS FOR ABANDONING HIS 400 PASSENGERS ABOARD HIS SINKING SHIP BOUND FOR SENEGAL. ONLY 15 SURVIVED. HE WAS CONVICTED BUT SERVED A LIGHT SENTENCE.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More of Captain Gruner's journal is revealed.

Sleep had been amazing that I almost didn’t hear the morning crow. Strong caresses against my bare back, made me aware of Campbell’s presence. I turn to rest my head against the perfect muscles of his chest as his hand cups my chin and kisses me.

“Good morning,” I greet him, grinning wickedly from last night’s encounter.

“How you feeling, Soot?” He smiles at me.

“Like heaven,” I giggle. “Thank you for last night.”

“You are welcome,” he covers my mouth again. His English has greatly improved.

Wrapped within the sheets, we descend upon the mattress, but the rattle of the doorknob startles me. The door opens to let Sirena in. Her protruding belly on display beneath her long dress; she observes us for a minute, ignoring the fact that she is interrupting a private moment and begins to speak.

“Need to go to water.” She holds up her hand to display a sudden streak of dryness on her flesh, like mine.

Pushing Campbell away, I nod. “Sure.” 

I leap out of bed, not apprehensive about my nudity, and gather my clothes. Picking a clean pair of long johns, I slip in on my shirt and trousers, socks, and boots, while Campbell does the same. Once we finish dressing, I escort the pair outside and into the main street.

After a quick stop by the fishmonger for their meal, we begin our secret trek to the beach when Mrs. Plimpton, in her church bonnet and cross, stops me.

“Soot?” Her voice is icy cold. “What sort of mischief are you doing now?”

I ignore her rude remark. “I’m busy, Mrs. Plimpton. Is there something you want?”

“Answers on my son’s whereabouts,” she emphasizes. “I know you have information about it.”

My tongue clucks. “If you’re so concern about where Tyler is, then talk to the sheriff.”

“I did!” She snaps at me. “But Tyler has burned his bridges way too many times with Sheriff Harrison. He won’t pursue an investigation.”

“Then Sheriff Harrison has no good reason to,” I curl my lips. “Tyler is no saint. He has a history of drunk and disorderly conduct, gambling, and him and his friends visits us at Adelaide’s from time to time. Who knows what he’s doing now?”

Eleanor Plimpton’s face scrunches up. “Lies! My son is a sweet boy! He would never be caught in such a…such a…”

“House of ill-repute?” I answer for her. “You obviously don’t know your son at all. Tyler knows Madame Dupont’s doves quite well.”

“You disgusting orphan!” She shouts at me. “How dare you spread such lies about my son! God watches and will punish you for such falsehoods!”

Sirena steps in front of me and hisses at her. Mrs. Plimpton backs away from the crazed, pregnant woman.

“Soot good person! You are evil human!” The mermaid sneers at the church woman.

“Who is this devil woman?” Eleanor Plimpton insults her. “You stay out of this!”

I smirk and decide to introduce them. “This is Sirena and her brother Campbell. They are visitors to our town. Captain Pownall asks me to be their escort for the day and obviously show them around. I suppose meeting the friendly townspeople might be a bad idea because apparently Bristol Cove is now a hostile and unapproachable destination for people. I would hate to think how this might affect our local businesses by the bad reputation our town gives. It wouldn’t bode well for our founders like Captain Pownall and your husband, Mortimer.”

Mrs. Plimpton’s face starts to huff. “Wh…what? What do you mean bad reputation? Bristol Cove is a lovely place. No one is going to believe such tales, especially from a ragamuffin like yourself.”

“Oh, I’m not the one to tell potential visitors,” I correct her. I point to Sirena and Campbell. “They are. They are the ones visiting our sweet, little town. I would hate to see what things they’d share when they go back to their respectable cities.”

Frustrated, the older woman gave up, turned on her heels and left. Watching her disappear into the town, Campbell leans into me.

“What you tell her to make leave, Soot?” He asks me.

“Something that she needed to hear,” I answer him. “Sometimes the truth hurts. Hopefully, she’ll stay away from us.”

I drag the pair toward the secluded beach, let them eat their fish, and watch them get into the water. This gave me time sit in the sand continue reading Captain Gruner’s journal.

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[](https://postimg.cc/DSZHHXfy)

January 1850

The mermaid hisses when I try to feed her. She won’t take any bread, fruit, vegetable or meat but she manages to eat the raw fish that I catch in the morning. I’ve learned to leave it by her bedside.

Since last month when I found her, she had been wounded but miraculously healed herself during the first week. Her body is fully woman, but her mind is that of a fish. I try to communicate with her, but she is hostile and refuses to learn. Instead, she hisses and tries to attack me. That is why I need to keep her chained up, to keep her safe.

I managed to find large heavy chains from the anchors of broken ships left behind. A graveyard of old schooners and fallen boats exist on the other side of the island. With my crude tools and hammers, I manage to fasten a collar and manacles that I could use to leash the creature.

The mermaid is strong but weakened when away from water. The chains and the collar are strong enough to hold her in both her room, and, at times, when she needs to go to water. I fastened hooks around both areas, to attach her leash to, so she won’t get away.

She is my mermaid, my find, and I won’t share her with anyone. She sings her song for me. Only for me and she makes me do things and sacrifice my sanity to keep her.

She is my special pet and I won’t let anyone have her. She is the answer to my loneliness on this wretched island.

She is mine.

-Captain Alexander Gruner

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Shocked by what I just read, I put down the journal. How could someone hold a mermaid captive and enslave her? From the distance, I see the beauty of both Sirena and Campbell diving among the waves, their fins and tails popping up from the white-capped foam from time to time. I think about Captain Gruber’s journal and how much the situation makes my blood boil. I decide to read on further.

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[](https://postimg.cc/xqm0pBxF)

February 1850

I finally get my mermaid passive. By weakening her with scraps of food and longer times away from water, she willingly succumbs to her captivity.

The collar and manacles have proven strong and easy to maneuver. I simply tug her leash and she will follow where I lead her to. I strengthen the hooks by her bed as well by the caves when I take her to the water.

The change is brutal when she becomes a mermaid, but she needs it for vitality. To my surprise the manacles hold as she constantly struggles but recognizes that freeing herself will not occur. A few moments in the water helps her but I know that it might be an opportunity for her to get away. I tug on her chain and she knows that she needs to get out.  
She doesn’t resist and responds to my signal. Back to being human, she follows while I feed the considerably necessity of fish, she needs to sustain herself, but enough to keep her docile. She tries to sing but her song is too weak.

Tired, she sings only to me at night in whispers. Night after night, she welcomes me into her bed, submitting and accepting me as her master.

I joyfully accept her.

-Captain Alexander Gruner

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Once again, I place the journal down on the sand. Reading Captain Gruner’s obsession and enslavement of his mermaid disgusts me. The treatment of these beautiful creatures and the disrespect that he had shown for them enrages me. I try to force myself from reading on, but my curiosity got the better of me and I continue with his entries.

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March 1850

I caught another one! God has brought me a bountiful harvest. This time I caught a younger mermaid in my own net while trying to catch fish in the water.

Imagine to my surprise, a large mermaid instead. Like its sister, she tries to fight me, trying to break through the net while trying to escape underwater. I pull the trap back, dragging her on to land. She fights me all the way, so I do what I do with any feral creature. I hit it.

Using a boat paddle nearby I strike the mermaid down a few times until I knock it out completely unconscious. Blood does appear on her head, but I know how much these things heal.

Now asleep, I grab another collar and manacles and take her body down to the cave. I think I’ll keep her there since I already have one inside the lighthouse. This one is far too young for me anyway.

I’m just happy I have two pets to keep me company this time.

-Captain Alexander Gruner

[](https://postimages.org/)  
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“What the hell?” I gasp. I toss the journal into the sand.  
What matter of man does this? Not only does he hold one mermaid captive, but he has another chained up nearby. The thought sickens me. I shake my head, pick up the journal, and thumb through it. No more entries occur at the end and it appears that only one last entry was written. I swallow my pride and finish the last page.

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April 1850

Another heavy storm. I’m debating if I should check on the younger mermaid chained inside the cave. I’m doubtful. These creatures are used to water. A downpour won’t hurt them.

My special mermaid whimpers. She no longer sings and that worries me, but even though she grows weak I know I have another pet to replace her.

Thunder and lightning crash outside, the light from the lighthouse signals any boats on rough water but I know there aren’t any for miles. No one is foolish enough to go out in this kind of a storm.

Then I hear it, the slamming of a small boat outside the rocks. I go out to investigate. Sure enough, as the Devil’s breath, I see him. A sea captain, much like myself struggling to get off his boat and crawling toward land. I rush over to assist him.

He tells his name is Captain Charles H. Pownall, sea captain with the merchant navy. I salute him and help him inside. But I must be wary of his presence.

He must never know of my finds. My mermaids. They are mine and if he as so much comes near them.

I’ll kill him.

-Captain Alexander Gruner

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My mouth drops. I skim through the rest of pages. Nothing. Captain Pownall knew Captain Gruner? This can’t be! That means that Sirena was the young mermaid and that her sister was the one being held captive by the lighthouse keeper. A million questions scatter in my head. What happened to Captain Gruner? How did Captain Pownall free Sirena? How did her sister die? There were so many things I needed to ask him.

For now, I put away the journal and observe Sirena and Campbell getting out of the water and transforming themselves back to human.

“We go back to village?” Campbell asks me, putting on his clothes.

“Yes, Campbell,” I tell him simply, while glancing at Sirena with sadness. I inhale a breath and finally ask the young mermaid a question. “Sirena, you said Captain Pownall saved you from an evil man that killed your sister. Do you know what this human’s name was?”

The mermaid thinks. “I think I heard name from sister before she died. He captain like Charles. Captain Gruner, I think. Why?”

“I’m trying to figure out something out,” I respond, not revealing what I had just uncovered.

I direct the pair back home to get Sirena settling in while myself and Campbell prepare for our tasks today with Madame Dupont. Pulling a drawer of one of the end tables, I try to slip the journal inside, but I accidentally drop it. It falls to the floor and slides underneath the furniture. Bending down, I reach for it and feel my fingers touching another object next to it. After some struggle, I manage to grab both the journal and the other item.

Focusing my attention to the two objects, I notice that the other article was also a journal. A sea journal. This one displaying the initials C H P, as in Charles H. Pownall. I quickly open it to read the first entry.

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May 1840

The sea is rough but nothing I’m not use to. My seafaring ways are what makes me such a respected naval captain. To enjoy the ocean’s luscious bounty and the smell of the salty air. There is nothing like it. It is my life. It is where I want to be.

-Captain Charles H. Pownall

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I skip ahead to see dates for 1850. Seeing how I was running late; I decide to put both journals inside the empty drawer of the end table for later. I grab Campbell and head out the door. Still, my mind became preoccupied with Captain Pownall’s writings.

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Miss Christmas scolds us as soon as we enter the kitchen.

“You boys are late!” She clucks her tongue. She sets down a bowl of porridge and a glass orange juice for each of us at the kitchen table.

I slurp up my breakfast as I observe Campbell struggle with his. “Not to your liking” I ask him.

He slaps the porridge with his spoon. “Taste like crab eggs.”

Miss Christmas clucks her tongue. “It’s not that bad! Now you boys get and start on those chores or Madame Dupont will tan your hides for being late!” She returns to writing something in pencil on the counter.

“What are you doing?” I ask her.

“Just writing some stuff on my mind,” she answers. Being my nosy self, I get up from my seat to glance over her shoulder to see her jotting down notes and dates. She turns to me in annoyance. “Mind your business, Soot. Don’t be looking at other people’s things!”

“Are you writing a journal?” I ask her.

She sighs. “I’m writing about my life and the history of living in Bristol Cove. Growing up, it was illegal for slaves to read but my Mama learned it by reading the Bible. She began secretly teaching it to me and this was before they started creating schools for Negroes. I’m hoping to one day publish it, but you know they no one will do it. No one wants to read history through the eyes of a Negro woman.”

“Then publish it under a fake name,” I suggest. “Writers do it all the time.”

“I thought about it,” she tells me. “But I’m too afraid to take a chance.” She set her pencil down. “What am I thinking? This is all a waste of time.”

“No!” I protest. “Miss Christmas, it’s not!” I walk over to where Campbell is sitting and kiss him full on the mouth in front of her. Her mouth drops to one of shock and then to sweetness. “You told me not to be afraid. I’m not. I mean I won’t be anymore! I’m with Campbell and if there is anything you taught me, Miss Christmas, it’s that I should allow myself to love!”

Miss Christmas puts her hand to her mouth and begins to cry. “That is the sweetest thing, I’ve ever seen.” She goes over to hug me. In her embrace, I kiss her on the cheek.

“That is why you also shouldn’t be afraid,” I tell her. “Just because you’re different doesn’t mean that people won’t accept you. Look, it took a while for Mr. Stanley and Mr. Abel to get customers and now they are most widely used blacksmiths in town. No one wanted to take a chance on a Negro woman and a disfigured, dirty orphan to work for them, but Madame Dupont took us in and hired us! The point is that the world is changing, and people will accept things eventually in the end. So, write that story of yours and maybe one day someone will want to print it.”

Miss Christmas smiles at me. “You’re right, Soot. I can’t get discouraged. There a plenty of people who want to read what I write. It’ll happen one day.”

“It will, Miss Christmas,” I say to her. “I believe it.” I turn my attention to Campbell, who seems to enjoy sipping on his orange juice instead. “Now we better get started on Madame Dupont’s chore list. I’m sure she’ll get annoyed if we’re just sitting around talking.”

I pull Campbell outside to start the long tasks we had to do for the day.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A full day of cleaning the gutter, sweeping the roof, tending the garden, and gathering postal parcels left us both exhausted. Stopping by the fishmongers, I grabbed two pieces of fish for both Campbell and Sirena for dinner while I settled with some cheese and bread from the bakery. 

After eating and retiring to bed, Sirena and Campbell drift off to sleep while I relax in a peaceful bath. Under the light of the kerosene lamp, I had pulled Captain Pownall’s journal and begin reading the dates concerning Captain Gruner.

What I discovered would forever haunt me.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soot reads Captain Pownall's journal.

April 1850  
Day 1

What I am about to share in this log is not to be believed. Hell, even I have trouble believing it myself. But I’ve recorded the incident, in case, this journal is ever found or discovered and everything I’ve shared here remains and is, in fact, true.

Piloting my tiny boat, Little Minnow, carrying a cargo of sardines to the Virginia port, I hit an unexpected storm this night. As John Milton once quotes, “The thunder, Wing’d with red lightning and impetuous rage, Perhaps hath spent his shafts, and ceases now To bellow through vast and boundless deep.” 

As described, the storm heavy, the waves high. Little Minnow tossed and turn against the huge current until I saw hope in the distance. A lighthouse.

[ ](https://postimg.cc/DSZHHXfy)

Steering toward the path of the light, I escaped the crashing of the jagged rocks, only to have slight crack near the front of the hull. I finally anchored as I managed to get out in the pouring rain. A wickie of the island, carrying a lantern, waves at me through the torrential downpour. I march through the wet, sleek puddles to meet him.

He tells me his name. A Captain Alexander Gruner, a name that seems to bear some familiarity, but I’ve forgotten long ago. He helps me inside the lighthouse while the storm continues outside.

In the heat of the fireplace, I sit trying fight the cold and to dry off my clothes. In his hospitable nature, Captain Gruner offers a cup of tea and some stew to which I devour every bite and warm myself with the brew he generously gave me.

He tells me of his months working as a lighthouse keeper on No Man’s Island, Virginia’s isolated tiny land that houses the lighthouse. He shares how difficult it is to not have any company and that my presence offers some relief to the loneliness. We share stories of my time as a merchant naval captain, now cannery business owner, and his time as a captain of his own schooner. Laughter and mutual respect fill the room as we enjoy the conversation.

With the storm pouring outside, he offers me the use of his chair to sleep in for the night and a quilt. I thank him kindly as I drift off to sleep.

Things appear normal this night except for the strange early morning sounds of humming or rather a bizarre song that echoes in my ear. It seems to want me to pull towards it, but I manage to fight it off and go back to sleep.

By morning, I will patch up my boat and head off to Virginia.

-Captain Charles H. Pownell

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April 1850

Day 2

The storm refuses to let up. Morning comes and the waves are just as violent. After feeding me a light breakfast of bread, fruit, and coffee, he gives me usage of his tools and lumber to repair the small crack at the front of my boat.

It takes me an entire day, but I manage to reseal the damage so I could be on my way. However, the heavy rain and dangerous waves make sailing out impossible today. I request another night to stay on the island and Captain Gruner reluctantly agrees. Strange how his hospitality last night now quickly changes. I think nothing of it as I return to my boat to inspect any more damages.

I notice Captain Gruner suspiciously eyeing me, but he suddenly returns to his tasks as he heads into the lighthouse and continues with his duties. The rain pours down even more and I’m about to return inside when I suddenly hear it.

The song. The beautiful melody coming from somewhere. It is faint and weak, but I follow it through the wet rain, soaking me and drenching me to the bone. The song leads me down a secretive path where the heavy tides pull into a small cave, where the steep edge of cave display a large deep pool of water. I enter the entrance and see something that still haunts me to this day.

A young girl.

Naked and collared, she is chained to a hook on the cavern wall. I slowly approach. She sees me and flinches. I ask if she needs help and she hisses, angrily and with a feral glare. I step back so not to scare her as I watch as she leaps into the water below. Violent screams come from underneath as I see the girl, no longer a girl, but something else entirely.

From the depths, she displays the grayish hue of scales, fins and teeth as her bottom half showcases a fish tale that only is spoken in sea legends and myths.  
I’ve come across a true to life mermaid. She swims as she struggles, the collar and chain only long enough for her dive but not allowing her freedom. She climbs out, displaying her true nature, animalistic and wild, but with anguish, changing back to her woman form, looking normal and innocent.

She drops to the ground, weakened as I slowly approach her again. She hisses but is too fatigued to approach me.

[ ](https://postimages.org/)

I touch my chest so not scare her. I tell her my name is Charles. She starts to mumble my name in repetition. Charles. I ask her what hers is. She does not respond. The language barrier between us will be proven difficult. I then start with simple words like hello, yes, no, and thank you. She seems to comprehend but still can’t form full sentences.  
She makes hand gestures which I don’t understand, but I do know this. The mermaid needs my help. I try pulling the chain off the hook to free her, but a lock secures her bindings to the cavern wall. The same lock that Captain Gruner must have a key to.

It suddenly dawns on me that Captain Gruner is keeping this magnificent creature captive. That explains his suspicious nervousness earlier. I ask the girl if she is hungry, pointing to my mouth and throat. She happily nods. I tell her, as I best as I could, that I will return shortly, but she fearfully shakes her head understanding the word no.  
I leave, listening to her whimper, as I return my boat. The rain is falling even harder than before. I get into the vessel, locate a can opener and a large can of sardines, and return quickly back to the cave.

Excitedly, the girl smiles when she sees me. I open the can with the tool, and she grabs the container, pours out the raw fish, and starts devouring it as if she hasn’t eaten in weeks. I imagine she hasn’t. How cruel is this Captain Gruner is to entrap and starve a mermaid? What other secrets is he hiding?

I use a few more gestures to communicate with her. I ask her if the man in the lighthouse did this to her. She nods and responds with yes. I ask if she is alone. She shakes her head no. I tell her where the other mermaid is. She shrugs her shoulders meaning she doesn’t know. I tell her that I’ll return again but she grabs my sleeve to protest. I promise her that I would make good on my words and touch her face.

She flinches at her first, but gradually accepts my comforting touch. She releases me while I return to the boat and bring a couple open cans of sardines for her feast on for later. She sits manacled to the cavern wall while I return to the lighthouse.

Night settles in as the rain continues to pour more heavily. Captain Gruner serves me another pot of leftover stew to which I thank him and devour it while he graciously offers me glass of whiskey. Before I drink, he probes me for answers to where I’ve been all day. I explain that the damage to my hull was a bit more extensive, so it took me a full day to repair it.

He continually questions me, in a threatening manner, to my whereabouts. My eyes shift to the corner of the counter where he had forgotten that he left a bottle of laudanum next to the bottle of whiskey. Seeing though his masquerade, I act quickly. 

I feign dropping my bowl of soup on the floor and offer to clean it up. In his hospitable nature, he tells me he’ll clean it up. He goes to get a rag to wipe the mess, leaving me time to switch the whiskey glasses.

After mopping up the stain, we return to changing pleasantries as we both sip our drinks, mine not containing the laudanum, while his does. I watch as he drinks the liquid down to last drop while I slowly polish off mine.

Within minutes, his eyes close and he drops to the floor unconscious. I get up and check his pockets, finding the key. I race through lighthouse, opening doors to nothingness. The girl said another mermaid was hidden inside. I had to find her, to free her.

That is when I heard the soft hum, a whimper, a whisper. I unlock the door from where it was coming from and open it. My eyes didn’t prepare me for the terrible sight that I had witnessed that night.  
There was a mermaid in the room, but in human form. Her naked body covered by a sheet, a metal collar around her neck and manacled like the young girl to a hook on the wall. However, the most dreadful thing was seeing her protruding belly, ripe with child.

The bastard had taken advantage of her and got her with child. Weak and possibly starving, she hollers in anguish. I get close to her bed to unlock her chains by she hisses and swipes at me, nearly attacking me with her fingers. I step back out harm’s way. I don’t know how to help her, but I know someone who can.

The mermaid in the cave.

I race out in the pouring rain, carrying a sheet I found inside the lighthouse. I find the cave and make my way down as the uneaten sardines remain next to her. I gesture with my hands that I’m going to free her. She seems to understand and trusts me.

I unlock the hook, her collar, and the remaining manacles. Covering her nakedness with the sheet, I signal to her about the other mermaid. She comprehends and follows me back to the lighthouse.

The pair of mermaids look each other and sob into each other’s embrace. With the understanding of the girl, she communicates to the pregnant mermaid to trust me. She reluctantly does. I unlock her bindings as well but with the state of her condition, it was impossible to move her.

Suddenly, the pregnant mermaid screams. A piercing shriek that nearly chills me to the bone. It became quite evident why.

She was going to give birth.

-Captain Charles. H. Pownall

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

April 1850

Day 3

The thunder and lightning stopped but the rain is still heavy outside. Captain Gruner is still out like a light. I don’t know how the long the affects of the laudanum will last, but hopefully it will keep him asleep.

The pregnant mermaid screams in pain at the child coming from her womb. With no midwife around and my basic knowledge of seeing my wife give birth to our own children, I prepare a tub of hot water and towels.

The girl watches helplessly, soothing her with a strange song, easing her pain. But the anguish of delivering a baby still outweighs any comfort. I tell the mermaid to push, unsure how mermaid children are born, but I can the same of human children.

The mermaid grunts, shrieks in pain, as she clutches the mattress and cries to the girl. No matter how much she tries to soothe her at this moment, nothing was going to help.  
Outside the rain continues to fall heavily, I stay with the mermaid all through the early morning, waiting for the arrival of her little one.  
He finally arrives.

Normal and bloody, I clean the infant and wrap it up in a blanket nearby. I prepare to hand the child to its mother when I see the vacant eyes staring up, glancing at nothing, as the baby cries for her. No movement, no breath comes from the mermaid, as she lies still on the mattress.

I see her mermaid sister sob, closing the mother’s eyes with her hands, while I hold the wailing infant in my arms. I knew then that the mother had died in childbirth.  
Taking the baby from my arms, the girl sings a haunting song to soothe him. It works. I lift the body of her sister and we lead our way back to my boat.

I ask the girl if it’s okay to bury the mermaid in the sea and she responds with a yes. With the storm calm, the waves are still rough. I gently set her inside the water to allow the ocean to take her. Small tears come from the girl’s face as I say a silent prayer and watch her disappear beneath the ocean current.

Instructing the girl to board the boat with the infant, I push Little Minnow away from the coastline and get on board. After pulling the anchor up, we leave No Man’s Island, away from the lighthouse, away from Captain Gruner.

Whatever nightmares the mermaids endured are now dead and buried. They can’t be hurt now.

-Captain Charles H. Pownall

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

April 1850

Day 4

The rain has stopped.

We get close to the Virginia port. During this time, I watch the girl drop sections of sea water on the child. I question her motives.

She tells me mermaid, believing this is the best solution. Her vocabulary is progressing.

I suppose she is wondering if the child can transform into the mermaid in ocean water. Obviously not, it is too human to live in the sea.

I explain in the simple terms that this child is not a mermaid but born a human. It can’t live in water.

She frowns saying simple words like can’t and water.

I nod. I tell her that the baby can only live on land and not the water. Live very much like a human. She comprehends the term human.

She begins to understand, as she places her forehead to the baby’s. I try to find some milk on board, but unfortunately, I don’t have any. I can only pray I get to shore soon before this baby starves to death.

We dock at the Virginia port. Tossing the mermaid some of my extra clothes, she dresses in a baggy shirt, pants, and heavy coat. She follows me off the pier, holding the child, while I race to a local general store to purchase a cup of milk.

We feed a spoonful to the baby, giving it time to ingest its belly until it was no longer famished. In her own words, she asks me what we are going to do with the child.  
I shrug and tell I don’t know yet.

I rent room a room at the local hotel for all three of us, while I figure things out. This child certainly can’t stay with me. My wife wouldn’t allow a stranger’s child into our home to raise. And by no means, can we just leave a baby starving on the street.

I think about it for a minute. The mermaid girl constantly questions me about what I’m to do with this baby.

I tell her I’m come up with a solution soon.

-Captain Charles H. Pownall

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

April 1850

Day 5

There is no other way. This child is of land and not of the sea. The mermaid girl disagrees and believes this baby can join her in the ocean.  
We proved it by dropping sea water on him and discovering that nothing was happening. Sadly, she needed to face the truth.

The infant is human.

With no other option, I take baby to the local orphanage in Virginia. There the nuns will take care and hopefully find a home for him.

The mermaid girl weeps, pressing her forehead to the child’s head as one of the sisters takes the infant from her arms.

I convince her that it is for the best. The orphanage will care for him and find a family to love and raise him.

She believes me. She follows me back to the boat as I prepared to sail back home. She pleads to follow me. Her song entices me. I can’t resist.

To my surprise, I kiss her, and she allows me to. We both realize that we need each other now.

-Captain Charles H. Pownall

[](https://postimages.org/)

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The tub water has now gotten lukewarm. I skim through the rest Captain Pownall’s journal only to find boring passages of sea dates, and boat stories and nothing else. What happened to the child? That is really what I want to know. I exhale and finish my bath.

Once done, I get up, drain the tub and towel off. Wrapping myself in the towel, I pad into my bedroom where a sleeping Campbell waits for me. I plant a kiss on her forehead just as he smiles and slip into bed.

Soon his arms are around me once more and we both sleep well into the night.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soot bonds with Madame Dupont

I roll over to hear the morning rooster crowing outside. Campbell drapes his arm over me, and I gently nudge him awake as I slip out of his grasp. Picking up a pile of fresh clothes, I head to the washroom to clean up and change.

The merman meets me outside in the living room, looking sun-kissed and refreshed from a night of good sleep. Personally, I’d like to think it’s from my good company, but again that is my arrogance and my deep affection for the man that is really talking. Noticing him looking quite seductive, in plain shirt and pants, I couldn’t control myself. I cross over to greet him with a kiss. He naturally welcomes my lips.

[ ](https://postimages.org/)

“Good morning,” I say to him.

“Good morning,’ he repeats back. I hear the faint sound of a purr from him. Again, my innermost desires are to blame. God help me for my wicked mind.

He kisses me again, but I stop him when I see Sirena exit her room looking tired and exhausted. Dressed in simply frilly dress that she wore yesterday, my thoughts turn to concern for the mermaid. I approach her and offer her a tight embrace. Certainly, she accepts it.

“Are you feeling all right?” I ask her, stroking her hair.

“Tired, can’t sleep.” She rubs her pregnant belly. “Will Charles be here?”

[ ](https://postimg.cc/cryjchZc)

“I’m not sure,” I tell her. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if Captain Pownall would make one of his surprise visits. He never lets me know if he’s coming or going. It would be nice from time to time, since his mermaid mistress misses him. I exhale a breath. “It’s mine and Campbell’s day off today, so I was going into town to pick up some fish.” Her ragged appearance troubles me. I take her arms and get her to sit down on the chaise lounge.

“Fish will be fine,” she replies. “I need to eat.”

I had forgotten about leaving early to get them their food. I need to remind myself that these magnificent creatures need to be better taken of and it is my responsibility to ensure that they are. Right now, I’m failing at both.

I gesture to Campbell. “Can you watch Sirena while I run an errand today?”

“Yes, Soot,” the merman answers. “I will watch and protect Sirena.”

Leaning over, I kiss him again to thank him. My feelings for him unwavering, as I steal one more glance before going about with my task. “I promise to be back soon. In the meantime, keep her safe.”

“I will keep Sirena safe,” Campbell vows.

Opening the door of the basement, I climb the stairs and head out through the garden to get to the main street. Already, several patrons are out and about, and I nod my head to several of the townsfolk who seem to acknowledge me now since I’m washed and wearing cleaner clothes. I drift through the crowd when I notice a tall stranger acting bizarrely.

Dressed in stained, dirty shirt and baggy trousers, I notice the mud and grime on his bare feet as his blue eyes give off a feral vibe. Long dark hair covers his face and despite the handsomeness, a certainly dangerous ugliness surrounds his presence. A gentleman in a suit accidentally bumps into him causing him to hiss, leading the suited man to scurry away in fear.

Could this be the killer merman? I had to find out. I trail after the stranger as a large group surrounds him on the walkway. Politely pardoning myself through the folks walking past me, I try to catch up but eventually, he vanishes into the crowd.

Frustrated, I stop and rake my hands my through my hair as I attempt to consider my next move.

“Soot!”

That obnoxious, familiar voice had to arrive at the most inconvenient time.

“Good morning, Mrs. Plimpton,” I groan in polite form.

Mortimer Plimpton’s wife appears even more matronly today. With her high collar and her plain, simple dress, she folds her arms and makes a disapproving face.

“Now Soot, I’ve been praying hard in church,” she announces to me. “God tells me that you can be absolved of your guilt if only you would confess to your part in my son’s disappearance.”

I slap my face. “Mrs. Plimpton, for the last and final time, I know nothing of what happened to Tyler!”

She didn’t like my answer. Clenching her fists to her sides, she sneers at me.

“You lie!” She squawks. “God will punish you for your deception, Soot! He is always watching your sins and you can’t escape that! You had something to do with my son’s vanishing and I’ll find out what it is! Mark my words! I will find out your dirty, little secret!”

I watch her strut away down the street as I search through the crowd for merman. Sadly, he too had gone. In response to my failure, I stomp my foot on the street and advance to the fishmonger.

Picking up some carp, I take the wrapped seafood back to the basement. I open the door to see Campbell sitting next to Sirenia on the chaise lounge before my eyes notice Madame Dupont standing over them.

“Why didn’t you and Captain Pownall inform me of her condition?”

The brothel owner folds her arms and directs her disapproval at the mermaid.

I quietly shut the front door behind me as I set down the wrapped fish on the end table. “I didn’t think it was anyone’s business but Captain Pownall’s.”

Madame Dupont rolls her eyes. “Anything that that occurs under my roof is my business.”

“With all due respect, Madame Dupont,” I address the issue. “The captain didn’t want anyone to know, especially with the baby along the way. Consider the fact that Sirena is his mistress, people will start to notice her and talk. We wouldn’t want this news leaking to the town. Think about the scandal it might cause.”

“Good point, Soot,” Madame Dupont agrees. “But at least, you both could have informed me that Sirena is with child. I would have been able to assist.”

I try to appease to her sensibilities. “We appreciate the support, Madame Dupont. But we thought it would be in our best interest to keep this news quiet. The less people know, the less likely there would be attention drawn to Sirena. Already, we have some issues with some gossipy folks snooping around.”

She put her hands to her sides. “What kind of folks?”

“Mrs. Plimpton for starters,” I explain, but embellishing my lie. “She has been digging her nose in my business. Sooner or later, she is going to discover Sirena and spill the beans."

The brothel owner scratched her chin. “That nosy religious hypocrite! She’s been trying to shut me down for years! I’ll fix her wagon!”

“Why are you going to do?” I ask her.

“I don’t know yet, but it’ll be drastic enough to make her back off,” she tells me with a wicked grin. “Don’t you worry, your secret is safe with me!” She glances at Sirena. “And don’t keep me out of your plans the next time. I could prove to be a valuable ally.”

“You already are,” I answer her. “You’re giving us a roof over our heads and place to stay. I think that more than qualifies.”

“Thank you,” Madame Dupont smiles proudly.

I notice Sirena nearly fainting as Campbell catches her on the chaise lounge.

“Oh my!” Madame Dupont gasps. “Should we let the poor dear lie down?”

“No, need food,” Sirena replies.

With this conversation running long, I nearly forgot the fish left on the end table. I instruct Campbell to bring it over. The merman hands one to Sirena who munches on the raw seafood, while he does the same with his morsel.

Madame Dupont flinches in disgust. “They’re eating that fish raw! Don’t they know they’re supposed to cook it first?”

“It’s delicacy from their home country of Spain,” I lie. I hoping she is buying my story. “They sometimes eat their seafood raw.”

“Fish good,” Campbell smiles, swallowing the last of the tail.

“I see,” the brothel owner frowns and cringes. “I guess I’m not as worldly, as I think I am.”

“We do eat canned sardines and anchovies,” I point out. “They’re raw sometimes.”

“True,” she shakes, observing Sirena gulp the head of the fish. “But at least they’re soaked in oil or water, or something.” She turns to me. “Are you sure raw fish is a delicacy?”

“I read in that in Japan, they eat raw fish and octopus,” I mention to her.

She fans herself and rolls her eyes. “I still stick to my cooked foods. Thank you very much.” Her face shifts from Sirena to Campbell and vice versa. “Though I’ll never understand the Spanish, they certainly have their delicacies.”

“You get use to it,” I remark. “I’ve been stopping by the fishmongers daily to bring them a daily catch from time to time.”

“Well,” she claps her hands. “Since we have some pure-bred Spaniards in Bristol Cove, I say we show them around. You know, Soot, expose them to some real American downhome cooking?”

I hesitate at her suggestion. What happened to keeping them a secret?”

“Have they been to town?’ Madame Dupont probes me with a certain glint in her eyes.

“Once or twice,” I answer roughly. “They needed some new clothes and it’s on the way to private beach.”

“Have they met everyone in town?” The brothel madam asks.

I list off the names they encountered. “Mr. Robards from the General Store. Mrs. Boudines from the dress shop. And, of course, Mrs. Plimpton who made some nasty remarks toward us.”

“Then it’s settled,” she laughs. “We’ll have another excursion into town.”

“Shouldn’t you be here for the customers and the girls?” I ask, hoping this would deter her from her plan. She seems more determined than ever for trek through Bristol Cove.

“Nonsense!” She retorts. “My doves are professionals. They know how to handle gentlemen callers when I’m not around. Besides, business is quite slow today. I’ll leave my doves at their leisure, while I take a break from the house.”

Sirena stands up. “I’m feeling better. Just need food. I can go into town with Madame Dupont, you, and Campbell.”

“See!” Madame Dupont remarks. “It’s settled! Even Sirena wants a chance to visit our lovely town and who better to be an escort than me!”

I then address the mermaid’s pregnancy. “What about Sirena being with child? The townsfolk will know and ask questions.”

“Only if they met the girl,” the brothel madam emphasizes. “No one has actually met Sirena or Campbell. They’ll just believe she is another foreign visitor from Spain.” She slips out of her long robe and wraps it around the mermaid. “Here.” She spins Sirena around to have us all look at the girl. “It’s baggy on her, which is perfect. It’s looks like a stylish coat from Spain. Plus, she’s petite and with the layers they’ll just think she’s gained a little weight. Hell, I didn’t even know she was pregnant until today.”

Sirena gazes at me. “Please, Soot. I’d like to see town again. I stay at home a lot. I’d like to explore.”

I couldn’t say no. I’ve been like that wretch, Captain Gruner, imprisoning Sirena in my own silent way, by keeping her captive in this basement suite. I realize that I had to set her free.

“Fine, Madame Dupont,” I exhale. “If you think we can pull this off, then we’ll make a day of it of visiting Bristol Cove.”

“Oh goody!” Madame Dupont twirls. “This is going to be a fun day for all. Mark by words!

I only hope that everything turns out fine and without incident.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We stop by the Anchor for breakfast. Already, I overheard the whispered conversations directed toward our group when our server, Millie, seated us.

“Is that Adelaide Dupont?”

“What is she doing here?

“The nerve.”

“Has she no shame?”

“Who’s that seated with her?

“One of her gentlemen callers, no doubt”

“That man sure is handsome.”

“It’s that dirty orphan, Soot, and he has a companion with him? Some young girl!”

“This town should has gone downhill. They’ll let anyone eat here!”

As I did a few nights ago, I ignore all their hateful remarks. Millie finishes with her table and then greets us.

“Soot! You’re back!” She grins. She notices Sirena and Campbell, before her eyes realize that Madame Dupont was sitting with us. “Oh my! Madame Dupont! I didn’t think you would ever visit us! This is a surprise! What can I get you today?”

“Coffee would be wonderful,” she politely addresses the waitress. “And I’ll have the oatcakes with honey please.”

“Wonderful,” Millie jots down her order. She then turns to me. “And you, Soot?”

“I’ll have the eggs and bacon with the coffee as well,” I reply to her. “Also, my guests will have the same but with a side of orange juice.”

“I like eggs!” Campbell announces proudly.

“I like eggs too and the bacon!” Sirena adds. “I try and good like fish!”

Madame Dupont nearly gags but keeps it together. Millie glances at me in confusion.

“They’re from out of town,” I explain in my elaborate lie. “They’re from Spain!”

“Oh!” Millie begins to comprehend their strange behavior and language. “Everyone’s food will be ready soon.” She disappears into the kitchen leaving Madame Dupont and me alone, watching the pair of merfolk examining the silverware.

I glance at the brothel owner, looking poised and confident. I had to ask her.

“How do you do it, Madame Dupont?”

“Do what, Soot?” She responds.

“Act like nothing bothers you,” I say. “The townsfolk here all have something nasty to say, but you don’t pay them no mind.”

“If I pay them any mind,” Madame Dupont explains. “Then I give them power over me. I know I run a scandalous business. Not anyone is going to approve, but I’m a woman who makes her own money, takes care of her workers, and holds her head high in this town that always wants to bring her down. That is something that I won’t allow anyone to take away from me!”

“I wish I shared the same sentiment,” I remark.

She reaches over to cup my face. “Listen, Soot. Just because you let this town treat you like garbage doesn’t mean that you are. You are hardworking and good. Lord knows you’re one of the few decent folk in Bristol Cove. Never let them judge you and make you feel that you’re less than nothing. You are Soot and you deserve better in life.”

Her comforting words made me feel better about myself. Other than Campbell, Sirena, and Miss Christmas, no one really made me feel wanted or special. I was now going to heed Madame Dupont’s advice.

Drumming her fingers together, she cocks her head and examines me. “Why did you ever name yourself Soot? It’s so beneath you.”

I sigh. “It was a cruel nickname that stuck. I was left behind at an orphanage in Blossom Hill, run by the convent nearby. The nuns didn’t bother to give me a proper Christian name and since I slept near the ash and soot of the fireplace, I tended to get dirty a lot. Hence, they cruelly referred to me as Soot. It was a name that all the children taunted me with. It’s the only name I’ve known and answer to.”

The brothel owner frowns. “That is cruel, but again so are the nuns. They claim to honor God, but they do things that are quite the opposite. I never trusted anyone in the clergy anyway.”

“What about you, Madame Dupont?” I question her. “How did you become…like you are?” I attempt to rephrase my inquiry, but it came out completely wrong.

“A soiled dove? A harlot? A whore?” She giggles. “I prefer prostitute. It gets right to the point.” She continues. “It’s your typical sad story in life. My parents owned a homestead in Wyoming but died when I was fourteen. The bank repossessed the land, forcing me to find work at the local brothel. I became quite skilled in my profession that I moved from one house to the next, learning the tricks of the trade, you can say. Eventually, I came to Bristol Cove and opened Adelaide’s, a premier brothel for both residents and visitors!”

[ ](https://postimg.cc/zLgDx3H2)

“And quite a reputation for angering all the religious folks of the town,” I add with a laugh.

Madame Dupont shakes her head. “That Eleanor Plimpton has been gunning for me ever since I moved here with my trade. Little does she know that both her son and husband are a lot of like. They are cut from the same cloth, especially that founder, Mortimer Plimpton.”

I gasp. “Mortimer Plimpton is one of your clients? But I never see him at the house!”

A guffaw releases from the brothel owner. “That is because she is always away at some church function. I’m like the resident doctor, I make house calls! Mortimer Plimpton wouldn’t be so foolish as to visit me at home. He knows better!”

Finally, I had something tawdry and vengeful I could use against that awful Eleanor Plimpton. The only conflict is if I wanted to use it.

Mille returns with our breakfast plates and we enjoy our hearty meal. To my surprise, I notice Campbell and Sirena enjoying the eggs and bacon and even the complimentary bread that Campbell once referred to as “soft rock”.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After I pay the bill, we leave the Anchor and begin our daily stroll into town. Sirena takes Campbell’s arm while Madame Dupont takes mine. We march down Bristol Cove, avoiding the stares and shocked faces of the locals.

“You know, Madame Dupont,” I say to the woman. “I’ve pegged you all wrong. I thought you were this greedy person who didn’t really give a care about anyone but herself. I’m glad I got to know you better and I apologize for any preconceived notions I had about you.”

[](https://postimages.org/)

“Aw, Soot,” she playfully slaps my arm. “Coming from you, that means a lot! I know I come across as arrogant and money obsessed, which I am, but I just have a head for business. Don’t take any offense to my comments.

“I promise I won’t,” I tell her.

We laugh some more as we decide to stop by Mrs. Boudine’s dress shop. Unfortunately, a suited gentleman with a mustache and sporting a bowler hat stops us. Next to him are two very large individuals.

“Madame Dupont!” The strange man smirks. “I’m afraid I’ve caught you at a bad time.”

The brothel owner puts a hand to her chest. “Ray, I’m sorry but I’m not available today. Tomorrow, I’ll be more than happy to entertain you…”

The stranger interrupts. “That is not why I’m here!” He pulls his coat aside to show a revolver tucked into his pants. His two thugs also do the same. Each of them carried pistols.

“Ray?” Madame Dupont exclaims. “What are you doing?”

“I’m not here for you,” he wickedly grins. “I’m here for them!” He points to Sirena and Campbell.

“Who are you?” I demand an answer.

“Didn’t read the journal I gave you, Soot?” The man named Ray interrogates me. “I’m Ray Gruner, Captain Alexander Gruner’s little brother. And I’m here to collect what’s his!”


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A group of thugs abduct Soot and his friends, leading to a startling revelation.

Upon seeing the pistols, Sirena and Campbell began hissing and charging at the three men. Quickly, I put my arm up to calm them. I didn’t want them to get hurt.

[ ](https://postimg.cc/R3WsjXHT)

“Keep your friends controlled, Soot!” Ray Gruner sneers at me. “Or my boys will be forced to shoot!”

“What do you want?” I demand from the stranger.

“Like I told you,” Ray smirks. He points to the two merfolk. “I want them!”

I step in front of the pair, shielding them with my body. “You can’t have them. They’re not for sale.”

Ray laughs. “Who said anything about buying them? I’m claiming what rightfully belongs to my brother and since he’s no longer around, as next of kin, his property becomes mine.”

His puzzling words echo in my head. “What do you mean he’s not around?” I probe the man. “Where’s Captain Gruner?"

Ray rolls his eyes. “Driven by madness, the man took his own life. I’m his only living relative so his estate and property rightfully goes to me, including the pair you’re hiding back there!”

My mind spins. Captain Gruner dead? Surely, I would have thought Captain Pownall would have killed him by poisoning him with the laudanum. Apparently, the horrible man did the right thing by ending it all by himself. I return my gaze back to Ray Gruner and his thugs.

“I won’t let you have them!” I tell him.

He reaches into his jacket to once again to display his pistol tucked into his trousers. “You don’t have a choice, Soot. I hold the winning cards here, so I suggest you cooperate.”  
In the excitement, I had forgotten to question his acknowledgment of me.

“How do you know my name?” I ask him. I probe further. “You don’t know me. I’ve never met you before, except when I accidentally bumped into you on the street.”

Ray Gruner snickers. “On the contrary, I know all about you. My meeting with you that night wasn’t accidental. I intended on it so I could make sure you were living in this town. I used your boss, Madame Dupont, here to help me deliver my brother’s journal to you so you can learn more about him.”

None of what he says makes sense. “Why?” I ask him.

“You’ll find out soon enough.” He lifts the revolver as I start to back away. Madame Dupont nervously tries to calm him.

“Now, now, Ray,” she attempts to appease him. “Let’s not do anything rash. We can be civilized about this and negotiate an agreement. No one has to get hurt.”

“No one is getting hurt, if you don’t all cooperate!” He demands. “Now here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to march out of the town and into the woods.”

“And then what?” I huff. “You’re going to kills us? Shoot innocents behind their backs?”

“Soot!” Madame Dupont gasps. “Don’t give him any ideas!”

“I will if you don’t follow my orders!” Ray Gruner hisses. He waves the revolver toward the other end of the street. “Now move!”

We play our parts as directed. Ensuring our entire party complies, we march toward the end of the main street to where it crosses into the path toward the forest. Many of the passersby, lost in their own worlds, ignore us as Ray and his goons force us into the dirt path and into the row of trees that conceal our whereabouts away from the town.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Through several hidden brush and narrow spaces, we journey into the thick woods until we completely veer away from the main path that leads to the beach. Instead, Ray Gruner and his men force us toward the opposite direction, farther away from the shallow side of the thicket and toward the mountain landscapes where dirt and boulders meet to a cavern opening. With nothing but the trees surrounding us, he strongarms us inside where just a sliver of light appears through a hole in the ceiling to reveal a row of stalagmites on the ground and a formation of stalactites on top.

His men enter first, emptying a large tarp bag that spills out a pile of large chains, manacles, and collars. Remembering both the sea journals, I knew exactly how and what they were used for.

Madame Dupont tries to make light of the situation. “Now Ray, if you are into these sort of proclivities, I must insist on charging you more for this kind of request.”

“Shut up whore!” He snaps at her. His eyes look to a pregnant Sirena and Campbell appearing confused. “Those are for them!”

His men cross to two large objects covered in a sheet. They remove the coverings to reveal two long wooden coffins on wheels. Airholes have been drilled on the sides and both displayed huge padlocks that connected to the lid and the base of the containers.

[ ](https://postimages.org/)

“You’re going to kill them?” I ask, my voice seething with anger.

“No, Soot.” Ray aims his revolver at me. “I need them alive! They are no good to me dead!” His mouth smirks at Sirena. “Besides, that one is pregnant! I’m getting three for the price of one!”

“And what are you going to then?” I interrogate him. “Parade them around in a circus or feature them in a sideshow?”

“Possibly,” he cackles. “People will spend a pretty penny to see something of their kind on stage. The possibilities are endless!”

Confounded by his statement, Madame Dupont scratches her head. “Their kind? What are you even blabbering about?”

Ray Gruner stares at the brothel owner in surprise. “You really don’t know?” His eyes return to me. “You didn’t tell her, Soot? What really exists in this world? What we believe is myth is, in fact, real? You are a foolish boy not to take advantage of such a discovery. I’m surprised at you!”

“Soot, what is he talking about?” Madame Dupont asks me. “Has he gone insane?”

“The only insanity was my late brother,” the man scowls. “He could have made up for all the disgrace he’s caused my family by taking the opportunity to exploit the knowledge that he was given. Instead, he was greedy and kept the secret to himself. Look where it got him! He let someone steal his property when he dropped his guard. Once again, he’s left with nothing and the fool decided to take his own life because of it! Good riddance, I say!”

“It sounds like you weren’t really that close,” I note from the way he describes his sibling loyalty.

“Close?” Ray laughs again. “The man was a blackened stain on our family name. Upon his sentencing for his disgraceful court martial and cowardice at sea, my family wanted nothing more to do with him. My father disowned him and the only thing that Alexander was worth a damn on was his money. It turns out he still had a small stipend still left from his years as a sea captain and, as his only surviving relative to the Gruner name, I was entitled to that and whatever property he left behind after his death.”

My fists clench. “This is what it’s all about? Greed?”

“Of course, greed!” The sinister man smirks. “Alexander’s money was meager, compared to the secret that he kept. The idiot was sitting on a goldmine and he didn’t know it. To think, he could’ve have exploited the knowledge and really turned his life around. Too bad, he decided to take his secret to the grave.”

“And that is when you discovered his journals,” I add to the clues of this mystery.

“At first, I didn’t believe in such tall tales,” he adds. “But then I did some research, which eventually led me to Bristol Cove. I learned about Captain Pownall having a secret mistress, who was living at Adelaide’s. For months, I followed in secret, spying, trying to see if my brother’s delusions were correct. Imagine to my surprise, that all those insane rantings were indeed true.” His face glances at Sirena and then to Campbell. “I saw them change, swimming in the sea, and then returning to this form that I see now.” His gaze shifts suddenly to me. “And to see you involved in the whole thing!”

I gulp. “You’ve been spying on me? This whole time? You’ve been watching me?”

Ray grins wickedly. “Absolutely. I kept wondering why a dirty orphan would be hired by Captain Pownall to act as a sitter for their kind. Now I understand, the puzzle pieces finally fit together. It all started to make sense.”

“Well, it doesn’t make sense to me!” Madame Dupont folds her arms in frustration. “What the hell are you two talking about? You’re both being cryptic! Why the sudden interest in Sirena and Campbell?’

I plead with Ray. “Please, don’t tell her. It’s better if she doesn’t know.”

The brothel owner clucks her tongue. “Tell me what?”

Ray Gruner ignores me. “That they’re mermaids!”

Madame Dupont clutches her chest. Her brows lift to one of disbelief. “You both have gone completely mad! Mermaids? There is no such thing…”

“Yes, there are!” He interrupts. “They’re real and they’re standing right here!” He directs his gun at Sirena and Campbell.

“Sirena and Campbell?” The brothel owner shakes her head. “They’re not mermaids! They are standing on land and where are their tails?”

“They have to be in seawater to change,” I add, finally confessing their secret. 

“It true,” Sirena interjects, clutching her bell. “I’m mermaid, like Campbell.”

“We’re from sea,” Campbell includes himself. “Been on land. Act human. No one know. Soot keep secret.”

Madame Dupont’s face turns white. “You’re serious.” She covers her mouth with her hand. “I don’t believe it. I can’t believe it. Mermaids aren’t real! They don’t exist!”

“They exist,” Ray laughs maniacally. “And they’re my ticket to fame and fortune!” He hints at the pair of coffins and the chains. “I’m going to transport them in there and keep them under lock and key. They’re my property now so I would appreciate it if you hand them over to me!”

“They’re no one’s property!” I shout at him. “They’re living creatures and belong to no one! They deserve to be free!”

The evil man raises his gun to me. “That’s where you’re wrong, Soot! They’re wild animals, feral hunters, and they are dangerous to humans! I certainly can’t have them running around! Then again, I know you have a certain fondness for one of them!” He glares at Campbell.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I defend myself.

Ray snickers. “Come now, boy! I’ve seen you writhing around with the merman on the beach! You’re a sodomite, the worst kind. At least, choose the female. If my brother could see what you’ve become, he’d kill himself sooner, out of shame!”

“What does Captain Gruner have anything to do with me?” I sneer. “I never met the man and can care less about that bastard!”

The evil man cackles. “You still have no idea!” He holds the revolver tightly as a shadow appears near the cave entrance.

“Soot! I knew you were up to no good!”

Eleanor Plimpton stood in the middle of the cavern entrance observing the group involved in some illegal activity. It was a bad decision on her part.

“I followed you up here!” She reveals. “I knew by the Good Lord that you were doing something criminal! Now I demand you tell me where my son is and what you did with him!”  
Ray grits his teeth and aims his revolver at the churchgoing woman. Panic overtakes Eleanor Plimpton the moment she notices the pistol in the man’s hand. She screams. Ray fires. Mortimer Plimpton’s wife falls to the ground, a large bloody wound on her chest.

Madame Dupont sobs as she races toward the woman. Her face, in tears, looks up in fear. “She’s dead.” She addresses Ray. “You killed her!”

“No witnesses.” Ray smirks, lowering his weapon. “The same will happen to all of you, if you don’t do as I say!”

Sirena and Campbell hiss. Afraid of what might happen, I try to quiet them down.

“He kill innocent human!” The mermaid spits. “I kill him!”

“Me too!” Campbell offers.

“No don’t!” I beg. “Sirena, think of the baby. Also, they have guns that kill humans and merfolk. We have to follow his orders, or everyone dies!”

Sirena and Campbell hug me as I stroke the back of their heads to make them understand.

“No die, Soot,” replies the mermaid calmly. “I will listen.”

“We do what human say,” the merman agrees.

“Good,” Ray sarcastically applauds. “Now everyone is cooperating. It’s nice to know that we’re now finally seeing eye to eye.”

Exhaling a breath, I shift my focus to Gruner. “Ray, please listen. There is another killer merman out there. He murdered that woman’s son and his friends. He’s been hunting us!”

“Lies!” Ray spits. “I’ve been here for months and haven’t seen another merman! You’re just stalling! Now here’s what we’re going to do…”

I notice Sirena and Campbell sniffing the air. Their faces furl into anger and hisses. I can tell that something is wrong.

“What is it?” I ask the pair.

“Killer from tribe!” Sirena grits her teeth. “He’s here!”

Campbell hisses. “Must protect Soot and Sirena!” He cowers into a battling stance.

Ray notices this and remarks. “What is he doing?” He directs his pistol at the merman.

Wind drifts through the trees outside, shaking the leaves and the branches. Something scares the birds; I listen to them fly away. Two of the thugs drag their chains toward the entrance to see what is causing a fuss when suddenly something long and sharp sails through the air, striking down one of the men.

It was a wooden spear.

Madame Dupont screams, cowers on the ground, and covers herself.

“He’s here!” Sirena hisses.

Another spear shoots through the cave, landing in the dirt next to us. I panic.

“Everyone duck!”

We all cower for safety as Ray and his surviving henchman ready their pistols. I grab Sirena and Campbell and push them toward the corner of the cave wall, while Madame Dupont does the same and scrambles to the other side.

“What the hell?” Ray looks around.

“It’s the other merman!” I shout to him from across the way. “He’s here!”

The next projectile hurls inside; this time, piercing Gruner’s only surviving thug. The dead man drops his gun to the ground while Campbell grabs one of the spears nearby and prepares for battle. He charges at Ray.

“Dammit!” Ray curses. Caught between shooting the unknown assailant and Campbell, he chooses the latter. Aiming his revolver at my lover, I scream to him.

“Campbell!”

Hearing my voice, the merman stops, leaving Gruner ready to fire his weapon. His finger pulses on the trigger when a spear propels from outside, running through the evil man’s chest. The revolver falls out of his hand the moment he hits the ground.

Outside, our attacker finally makes his appearance. Sirena hisses behind me as I see the dirtied shirt and trousers and muddied hair of the tall human merman, raising his own makeshift spear while entering the cave.

From the corner, I see Madame Dupont fearfully cowering behind a large stalagmite, hiding from the unknown killer.

Campbell hisses at the feral merman as he clutches his spear. Together, the men face off inside the cavern and soon they began charging at one another.

Taking advantage of the distraction, I drag Sirena toward the entrance. Signaling for Madame Dupont to follow, the brothel owner weeps as she races with us to the opening. We manage to get outside as I hand Sirena to her.

“Keep her safe, Madame Dupont!” I order the woman.

“Wh..what are you going to do?” She continually sobs for all the murders she had just witnessed.

“I’m going to help Campbell,” I explain.

“Soot, be safe,” Sirena says, holds my hand. “Merman evil. Will kill you! Campbell can’t fight. Can’t win.”

Planting a kiss on her head, I offer her reassurance. “I have to try.”

They watch me go as I dart back into the cave.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ray Gruner gasps for breath. A spear, impaling him and his fingers trying to reach his revolver a few inches away, I notice the blood seep from his wound and from his mouth. I pick up his gun and aim it at him.

“Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you!” I tell him angrily.

The evil man grins, speaking in low whispers. “I’m…already…dead. But you still…don’t know the truth.”

“What truth?” I demand. My hands shake with the pistol in hands.

Through his blood smile, he confesses. “My brother…had a child…half mermaid.” 

I recall the passages of both the sea journals of Captain Gruner and Captain Pownall. “I already know. I read all the documents.”

“But did you know…” he snickers. “That child…is you?”

My mouth drops. I didn’t believe him. “What? What are you talking about?”

Ray laughs, blood dripping from his lips. “Pownall…put you up for adoption…in Virginia orphanage…Precious Blood…name of orphanage…”

Precious Blood? That isn’t possible! That was the orphanage I was raised in Blossom Hill! It couldn’t be in the same Virginia port of the half mermaid baby that was given up. That is purely coincidental! Could it?

Anger forms on my face. “You’re lying! I’m not related to that bastard, Captain Gruner!”

“Alexander Gruner…” he teases me. “His blood runs…in your veins…you child of…his mermaid…Ask Pownall…for the…truth….”

His eyes close as the last breath of life escapes him. Shock, shame, and disgust overwhelms me. It couldn’t be true! It just couldn’t! The things that Captain Gruner did to that mermaid. Sirena’s sister. That means…Oh God!

Sounds of combat breaks me from my spell. I turn to see the killer merman and Campbell continually battling with their spears. I raise my pistol and aim it at the murderer, but having no experience with guns, I’m afraid I might hit my lover.

Helplessly, I observe the pair fighting. The killer merman jabs at Campbell with his weapon but my blond merman blocks the attack, leaving him room to create an offensive maneuver. He charges, stabbing his opponent in the shoulder, allowing his foe to dismantle his fingers from his spear. Then with an upward motion, Campbell lodges the weapon from the merman’s hands, causing it to fly to the other side of the cave.

[ ](https://postimages.org/)

Not one to be outdone, the killer charges at him, slamming him into the ground and ripping the spear from Campbell’s hands. Now it was only bare fists and feet as the pair wrestle and resort to fisticuffs. Straddling the blond merman, the killer claws at him, drawing blood at his chest and face. Campbell struggles while trying to fight his former mate.

“STOP!” I scream. I raise the revolver in the air and fire, hoping to scare him. It didn’t.

Seeing Campbell bruised and bloodied, the murderous creature then turns on me. He kicks into my lover’s ribs, causing him to wince in pain, as the feral creature grabs a spear nearby and aims at me. I swallow hard, targeting my gun at him, hoping my firing will hit him. I squeeze the trigger.

Another explosion rocks close to me. Captain Pownall fires his pistol several times, hitting the killer merman in the chest. He falls, giving Campbell the opportunity to get up and reach for a spear nearby. With his enemy now wounded, he makes his move. He rams the weapon through the back of his former mate, piercing through his chest. The killer merman finally falls to the ground dead.

Battered, bruised, and bloodied, Campbell drops his spear and walks over to me to touch my face.

“Soot, okay?” He strokes my cheek, but that did truly little to comfort to the revelation that the dead Ray Gruner informed me. I say nothing as I brush his hand away.

“I noticed you earlier with a strange group of men,” Captain Pownall began. “I suspected something was wrong, when I noticed that Eleanor Plimpton was also trailing you and so I followed quietly behind. I’m glad that I did.” He looked around to see the horrific bodies contained inside the cave. His face notices the dead merman as well. “I guess we found our killer merman.”

“We did,” I said quietly. My face glares at him in fury.

Sensing my anger, he addresses me. “Something wrong, Soot?”

Clenching my fists, I let it all out. “Why didn’t you tell me? I discovered the truth, about you, Sirena, and Captain Gruner! I’m the child that you abandoned at the Precious Blood Orphanage in Virginia! I’m the baby that came from that bastard, Gruner, and his mermaid! Tell me the truth, Charles Pownall! I deserve to know!”

Captain Pownall lowers his eyes down and sighs. “And tell you what, Soot? That you’re Sirena’s nephew? That you’re born on land and have no special mermaid gifts? That your mermaid mother was kidnapped, held captive, abused, and forced upon by a mad, disgraced ship’s captain? You were not conceived in love. Is that what you want to hear? That your mother died in childbirth! Do you really need to know the ugly truth? When you arrived in Bristol Cove, I didn’t believe it was you, but I did some digging and discovered your origins. I thought it best that we stayed away, but Sirena managed to sense that you were her sister’s lost baby, so she asked for you. The fact is that the truth doesn’t change anything. You’re still Soot and a human on land! Happy now?”

The truth is a bitter pill to swallow. What he said was true. I didn’t belong anywhere, not on land, and, certainly, not in the sea. I was merely Soot. A nobody. Undeserving of love and acceptance and of life. I’m merely nothing. I had become numb.

“The bodies,” Captain Pownall notes. “We can’t have people suspecting anything.”

“I’ll take care of it,” I reply, my voice showing no emotion.

Campbell comes up from behind me to embrace me, but I push him away.

“Soot, something wrong?” He asks.

I say nothing as we walk outside. Madame Dupont holds a frail Sirena, panting heavily. Worry shows on Captain Pownall’s face.

“What’s happening?” He asks the brothel owner.

“Baby coming,” Sirena pants.

[ ](https://postimg.cc/p9LJcsx5)

“But it’s too soon,” notes the captain.

“No soon, baby coming,” the mermaid repeats.

“We have to get her to the house,” Madame Dupont suggests.

“Right,” Captain Pownall agrees.

They each take Sirena’s arms and lead her through the forest, but not before the captain reminds me of the most important thing.

“Soot, the bodies.” He says with more concern than my welfare.

“I’ll meet you at the house,” I tell him.

I watch them disappear as I take a different path toward the beach. Campbell follows, as I want him to.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ironic that the shoreline is rather peaceful this time. I stare at the ocean and rolling waves.

Curious by own blank state, Campbell questions me.

“Swim now?” He asks me.

“No, swim forever.” I tell him flatly.

“I don’t understand,” he replies.

Sadly, I explain it to him. “You need to go, Campbell! Back to water! Back to the ocean! You have to go back to your people!”

“No!” He protests! “Stay here on land! With you. With Sirena!”

I exhale a breath. “I don’t know what will happen with the baby or Sirena. It doesn’t matter now. But you I can save! There have been too many deaths, which proves that humans and mermaids can’t be together!”

He touches my face. “No, stay together. Soot and me mates! We love. That is all that matters.”

“No!” I slap his hands away. I could feel the darkness inside me. I release it. “NO! WE’RE NOT MATES! There is no us! I don’t love you! This meant nothing! It was all fun! Humans and mermaids should never be together!”

“Not true!” Campbell argues. I could see tears starting to form in his eyes. I haven’t seen merfolk cry. I didn’t they were capable of it, but here he was releasing each drop from his eyes. Still, I show no emotion. Yet inside, it was killing me. “You love me, Soot!”

I draw a fist and strike him. It does not damage him in the least, but only bruise my knuckles. I just need him to get the hint.

“No! I don’t love you!” I shout, not displaying any feeling. “I never did!”

The merman pauses, sadness appearing in his sea-blue eyes, and begins to back away.

“You want me to go?” He begs. I could feel him, wanting me to accept him back.

“Yes,” I whisper, not moving from my stance. “Please, just go! Go home to your kind!”

I point to the rolling waves.

[](https://postimages.org/)

Averting my gaze, the merman steps into the water, refusing to remove his clothes as he does. The white-capped foam covers him, drenching him, and his dives in. With only the remnants of discarded human fabric floating on the surface of the ocean, I see the flash of fin before vanishing among the waves and then he was gone.

The tears finally arrive, and I experience a full feeling of anguish. The pain cuts deep that I can barely breathe. I clutch my stomach and submit to the agony. Dropping to the sand, I sob, collapsing to the ground, refusing to get up.

I’ve lost everything. My love. My identity. My life. My sense of self. Everything had been stripped away from me in the blink of an eye. I’m simply here to exist, waiting for Death to finally claim me.

Like I was before, I am nothing.

Forcing myself up from the sand, I wipe my tears away, allowing the feeling of numbness and ambivalent personality to set in. I return toward the dirt path to the cave and try resolve how I am to bury the bodies.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Sirena delivering her baby, Soot and Captain Pownall make a difficult decision.

I made a trip back to Adelaide’s to pick up the shovel from the garden before returning to the hidden cave. Up to this point, I’d stare blankly into the sky, not responding, not feeling, not caring. In short, I am empty.

Trekking through another section of the woods, I found another dark cave close to the mountain’s ridge. I enter, noticing that it led to a sharp ravine inside the mountain. Seizing this opportunity, I drag each of the five bodies back and forth from one cave to the other and toss the corpses over. Grabbing the shovel, I throw some dirt from the cavern over, hoping that it’ll cover any trace of them. It didn’t matter anyway. No one in town ever explores this area of the woods.

By the time I had finished, night had appeared. Covered in dirt and dust, I make my way back to the garden, toss the shovel aside, as I head into the private basement.  
Anguish cries echo from Sirena’s room. I see Madame Dupont bringing buckets of hot water and towels as I watch Captain Pownall holding his mermaid lover’s hand.

“How is it going?” I ask the brothel owner.

“Not good,” she replies. “Sirena’s labor is proving difficult and none of us are sure of what to do.”

[ ](https://postimg.cc/zLgDx3H2)

“Don’t we have a midwife in town?” I ask the woman.

Madame Dupont nods. “We do but Captain Pownall is dead set against it. I think it’s the whole scandal thing he’s afraid of.” She then realizes something. “Where’s Campbell?”

“Doesn’t matter,” I answer dryly. She accepts my answer. I offer another solution. “Let me try something.” I walk to the door and leave to go upstairs.

Through the kitchen, I catch Miss Christmas preparing to leave for the day. She examines my sullied appearance.

Good Lord, Soot,” she rolls her eyes. “Did you crawl through the dirt? You’re filthy!”

“Never mind that, Miss Christmas,” I tell her. “Have you ever acted as a midwife?”

“Yes, plenty of times at the planation,” she answers me. “Why?”

“It’s Captain Pownall’s mistress!” I explain to her. “She’s having a baby!”

“What?” Miss Christmas eyes widen. “I didn’t know she was even pregnant. Is she in her room?”

I shake my head. “No, we set up her up in a different part of the house.”

“Where?”

“The basement.”

“The basement?” Miss Christmas scratches her head. “You set up a pregnant woman in a dark, dank, drafty basement?”

I exhale. “It’s nothing like that. Madame Dupont fixed it up real nice into a private suite for Captain Pownall and me. I’ve been living there since last month.”

“No wonder,” she remarks. “I’ve notice you’ve not gone back home to your shack. Is she there now?”

“Yes,” I nod. “She’s having trouble delivering. Madame Dupont and Captain Pownall are with her right now.”

“Okay,” Miss Christmas replies. “Give me a minute while I boil some water and bring me a stack of fresh towels, alcohol, and scissors.”

I agree and go to the cabinets to retrieve the items. Once her pail finishes boiling on the stove, I guide her through the secretive basement at the back of the house. Her eyes lit up in surprise to see the furnished quarters looking more like a hotel room than a basement. She ignores the room and heads into Sirena’s bedroom.

Seeing Miss Christmas in his private quarters causes Captain Pownall to stand up from his chair. “What is she doing here?”

I raise up my hand. “Miss Christmas works here, and she has midwife experience. She’ll keep your secret safe.”

Madame Dupont agrees. “Christmas is reliable employee, Charles. She’s also discreet. You can trust her.”

“Fine,” the captain mumbles and sits back down.

Sirena pants heavily as she looks at me helplessly. I take her hand to soothe her.

“Where is Campbell, Soot?” She asks me between breaths.

“He’s gone, back to the sea,” I say sadly.

“Why?” She questions with concern.

“It was time to go back home,” I tell her. I gesture to Miss Christmas. “Sirena, this is my friend, Miss Christmas. She’s going to help with your baby.”

Sirena pants. “I trust, Soot. Miss Christmas help with baby.”

Slowly, the Adelaide’s servant places a comforting hand to her. “Sirena, is it? Don’t worry, I’m going to help you deliver your baby.”

“Baby, yes,” Sirena answers weakly.

[ ](https://postimages.org/)

The next few hours seem like eternity. Despite the anguish cries of Sirena, the infant still refuses to come. We wait patiently as Miss Christmas attends to the mermaid.

“Keep breathing, Sirena.” She advises the young girl. “The baby still is not ready.” The servant asks Madame Dupont if she can dab the sweat off the forehead of the expectant mother, while Charles Pownall clutches the mermaid’s hand. She then leaves to soak another set of towels into a boiling pot on the iron stove of the room.

“How is she doing?” I ask Miss Christmas.

“Not good,” she replies honestly. “The baby might be breeched, meaning I might have to turn it around. That is why Sirena is having trouble delivering.”

I put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Do whatever you can to save the baby and mother.”

“I will,” she agrees. Picking a pair of fresh, hot towels, she returns to Sirena’s side.

The next hour proves brutal. Sirena screams in agony as Miss Christmas manages to assist in the breech birth. Grasping the bedpost, the mermaid bites her lip as her midwife notices something popping up from underneath the sheets.

“You’re doing good, Sirena!” She reassures the young girl. “I see the crowing of the head. Now push!”

Sirena shrieks, clawing at the bedpost, as she tries to deliver her baby. Madame Dupont and Charles Pownall encourage the young girl as the mermaid puts forth all her effort to bring her child into this world.

“It’s coming, Sirena! You’re doing good!”

Another scream escapes from the mermaid. Her pants and cries become more irregular as she grabs the bedsheets and howls in pain.

“It’s coming! It’s coming!”

One more push. Sirena bellows to the heavens, bending the iron bedframe behind her with her hands, as she releases all her strength to birthing the infant halfling into this world. With her last breath, she roars something fierce, then falls back to the bed exhausted and asleep.

The sound of a crying child echoes in the room as Miss Christmas immediately cuts the umbilical cord and wraps the child in a clean towel. She cleans the newborn off, exhibiting a rosy pinkness, and smiles at the recently born babe. Then her face instantly turns to shock as she notices the child’s legs suddenly contort from human to fishtail. She screams and shoves the infant girl to me.

Cradling Sirena’s daughter in my arms, we all watch in horror the fishtail falling off to the floor, dissolving into dirt, as the newborn reverts to human legs.

“DEMON!” Miss Christmas blares. “THE CHILD IS BLESSED BY LUCIFER!”

“No, Miss Christmas,” I attempt to reason with her, but the Negro woman would have none of it.

“Get away from me!” She screams. “It’s the Devil! It’s the Devil!” She drops the towel in her hands and runs out the front door, shrieking of demons in the early morning hours.

I turn to see Madame Dupont covering her mouth in shock. Tears caused by fear fill her eyes. “You weren’t lying. Mermaids do exist and Sirena is one of them!” She shakes her head and she too darts through the front door.

Captain Pownall rubs his face. “We’re done for, Soot! They’re going to tell everyone! We’re ruined!”

I ignore the man and touch Sirena’s pulse on her neck. Still breathing, but unconscious. The birth had been too much for her. I soothe the crying baby as I glare at the town’s founder.

“What about your daughter?” I ask him, my tone direct to the point. “Aren’t you going to care for her like you promised?”

Pressing his palms to his face, the sea captain shook his head. “I can’t possibly care for her. I already have a family. As much as love Sirena, I must think about them. Now with the revelation that mermaids exist, it’s going to ruin me. It’s going to destroy my reputation!”

I snap. “Is that all you care about? Your prestige and reputation? What about Sirena? What about this baby?”

“It’s not that simple, Soot,” he looks at me sadly. “I keep this town running. My cannery business is what saves this town. If I lose it all over Sirena and that baby, it’s going to ruin a lot of lives. I can’t let that happen!”

I grit my teeth. “You’re just going to abandon your child and Sirena, is that it? You’re going to be a coward and do the same thing that you did to me?”

[ ](https://postimages.org/)

His eyes look away in guilt. “I’m sorry, Soot. I couldn’t keep you. It would make my family suspicious that I adopted a stranger’s child. After saving Sirena, she became enraptured with me for rescuing her. She would follow me to the ends of the earth if she could. That is why she came to Bristol Cove, so she could be near me.”

“And once again, you’ll betray them like you did me!” I point out to him. “You have no honor, Charles Pownall!”

“Soot!” He starts to beg. “I’ll pay you more money if you take care of Sirena and this baby. You want the cannery fisherman job? It’s yours! I can’t be held accountable for what happens to them. Not now! Not ever!”

“You bastard!” I yell at him. “I don’t want anything from you! Ever since you interfered in my life, it’s been nothing but heartache and pain! I was fine being a nobody in Bristol Cove, but you made me believe that I was something more! Someone worth being! My life has all been a lie! A joke! I want nothing more to do with you!”

Tears streaks down his face. “Soot! You can’t abandon me now! How will I do right by Sirena and this baby? I need you to help me!”

“Help you?” I scoff. “Why should I help you?”

“Because Sirena’s life and her baby might be in danger,” he argues. “If this Miss Christmas or Madame Dupont say anything, they’ll have a mob coming after them. No one wants monstrous creatures in their town! They might want to do harm to both!”

I hate to admit it, but he was right. The knowledge of the merfolk’s existence puts Sirena and her daughter in danger. I came up with the only viable solution.  
“You’re right,” I sigh. “The only way of keeping Sirena safe is by setting her free. She needs to go back into the water.”

“But she won’t go!” Captain Pownall exclaims. “She’s too loyal to me! Even with her child, she won’t abandon me!”

“True,” I begrudgingly admit. “And this baby can’t go into water. If she’s like me, she won’t survive in the ocean.”

“How do you know she’s like you?” Captain Pownall asks.

“Do you want to take that chance?” I retort angrily. “Do we see if she drowns in water?”

The sea captain remains quiet for bit. “Then you’ll take her?”

“Take her where?” I question. “I’m not fit to raise a child. We need someone that can accept her and keep her safe and secure.”  
“Not the orphanage in Bristol Cove!” Captain Pownall protests. “They know us here!”

“The Haida,” I suggest, the one family that immediately came to my mind. “The Indian tribe is secretive and secluded. I can ask Powaqa to take her and find a good family for her. It’s the only way.”

“Agreed,” the sea captain nods reluctantly.

My mouth curls. “The only thing then is that you’ll have to inform Sirena that the baby died during childbirth. It’ll break her spirit, so she’ll return to the ocean.”  
Captain Pownall disagrees. “I can’t do that!”

“Be a man!” I shout. “You’ve already ruined lives before. What’s another to you?”

He averts his eyes. “Very well, Soot.”

Showing no signs of caring, I wrap up the newborn and proceed to the door. Captain Pownall stops me.

“Wait, Soot!”

He runs, his eyes sobbing in tears, and bends down to kiss his daughter’s forehead. “Forgive me, child, for what I’m about to do!” His face then gestures to me. “Go! Take her far away from here!”

I nod and exit through the front door.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The early morning evening sky looks beautiful in hues of grays and dark blues and the moon above compliments the twinkling stars, but even that did little to make me appreciative. Clutching the sleeping infant in my arms, I cross through the secretive beach until I found the dirt path leading up to the Haida village. Lit up with burning candles, I locate Powaqa’s hut and step inside.

[ ](https://postimages.org/)

“Soot?” The older shamaness addresses me. “You’re up very early for remedies.” She sees me carrying the bundle in my arms. “What’s this? A baby? Whose?”

“The mermaid’s,” I tell her. “She just gave birth but died during the labor.” I lie in my confession. “Her daughter is of land and sea. Her father is Captain Charles H. Pownall.”  
Powaqa’s eyes widen. “Captain Pownall’s child? Why bring it here?”

“He wants nothing do with the child,” I admit dryly. “The coward doesn’t want to claim her!”

Powaqa clucks on tongue. “As usual, the White Man doesn’t want to admit to their crimes, like when they massacred our people and stole our land! That shouldn’t surprise me!” She eyes me suspiciously. “That still doesn’t explain why you’re here.”

“I need for you to take her,” I tell her. “You once told me of how your people hold such mythical creatures in high regard. This baby is one of them. She’s sacred and I know she will have a loving home and be safe here, unlike Bristol Cove.”

“A half mermaid child?” The shamaness gasps. “Are you sure we would be a fitting family for her?”

I nod. “The Haida are honorable and loyal. I see no other to raise this girl. All that I ask is that you care for her and love her and provide for her a home that I was never was given.”

Powaqa holds my hand. “We promise to do that, Soot.” She takes the sleeping babe from my arms. “This child will be a special gift for the Haida, and we will honor and cherish her as one of our own.”

“Thank you,” I say to the old woman.

I prepare to leave when Powaqa grips my shoulder.

“Soot,” she says with comforting tone in her voice. “I know you never got to experience true acceptance and love in this life, but I hope you find the peace that you so richly deserve.”

“I hope so too,” I whisper to her as I exit her hut.

The soft cries of Sirena’s daughter vibrate through my ears. I wish I could say that I wanted and needed to turn back and accept her.

I didn’t.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chaos erupts in the basement. I enter the suite to find a crazed Sirena, in her nightgown, on the bed, hissing at Captain Pownall. What he had informed her had driven her into a feral frenzy.

“Where’s baby?” She shrieked, throwing a hairbrush at the captain, nearly missing him.

“Sirena, please!” Captain Pownall pleads, dropping to his knees. “Understand that this was unfortunate.”

The mermaid wouldn’t listen. “Where’s baby?”

“Sirena,” he begs. “I’m sorry, the baby didn’t make it! I didn’t want to tell you this way!”

[ ](https://postimages.org/)

“LIES!” The mermaid sobs. She strikes the metal bedpost with her fist, bending it. “I WANT BABY!”

I enter her bedroom, unmoving near the entrance as she lifts her weeping face to me.

“Soot!” She whimpers. “Tell me truth, please! Did baby die?”

Sadly, I look down before I could face her. Gradually I glance up. “I’m sorry, Sirena. The baby is gone.”

“NO!” The loudest wail I ever heard escapes from her throat. She tosses on the mattress, ripping apart the fabric with her bare hands as she throws cotton and feathers everywhere.

Captain Pownall approaches her to comfort and calm her, but she resists.

“Get away!” She hisses. Shoving the sea captain hard, he dents the wall before falling and nearly turning over the nearby nightstand. Ignoring her lover, she leaps out of bed and marches toward me, but not before Captain Pownall scrambles back up and grabs her wrist.

“Please, Sirena! Don’t go!” He pleads.

Rage covers her face as she shifts to look him. A song, beautiful and hypnotic fills the room. I immediately knew it was coming from her. It drifts through the air, vibrating through ever wall and entrances the sea captain into a seductive lull. To my surprise, it didn’t affect me. She watches her lover drop to the floor, cradling himself pleading and begging for her to come back. Sirena hisses at him and signals her sea-blue eyes at me.

“We go to water now!” She tells me.

I nod in agreement and leave with her. We exit the basement only to hear the cries of Captain Pownall calling for his mermaid as the song continues to play inside his head.  
Once again, I didn’t care.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The morning sun began to rise over the ocean’s horizon’s lighting the night into day. Waves crash against the shoreline as I walk with Sirena across the beach, her eyes red from crying. I embrace her close.

“I’m sorry, Sirena,” I whisper to her. “Humans should never be with mermaids.”

She sniffs and wipes away her tears. “I know now.” She touches the dry patches across my face. “You send Campbell back to water.”

[](https://postimages.org/)

I nod. “I had to. The ocean is safer than being here on land.”

She touches my hands. “I know you know truth. You sister’s baby.”

I nod again. “Yes. But the sad thing is that I have the evil blood of a human inside of me. He did horrible things to my mother.”

Stroking my cheek, she places her head against my chest. “Sister still love baby. Sister love Soot. Her spirit watch over Soot.” Her hand clutches mine. “Come to water. Be free. Come with me.”

I inhale. “I can’t, Sirena. I wish I could. But I’m cursed on land. I can’t live in water. I can’t change. I would die, but you can go back. Be with your people, Sirena. Be something, I can never be. Be free!”

Her forehead touches mine. “Soot is love. Sirena loves Soot. I won’t forget you, sister’s baby.” She touches my face one more time and kisses my cheek.

Hearing the waves nearby, she races in and dives into the rolling tide. Her flimsy nightgown discards, floating away into the ocean as she transforms. The flash of her tail in the distance signals her vanishing for the last time beneath the sea. I step back and watch, alone again as usual.

The anguish cries of Captain Pownall startle me. I see him racing toward me; his face in tears, sobbing with regret.

“Sirena! Sirena!”

He catches up to me and punches me in the face. I topple to the sand as he straddles my chest and grabs my shirt with his fists. He violently shakes me.

“Bring her back!” He pleads. “Bring her back!”

“I can’t!” I shout back at him. He gets of me as he stares helplessly toward the morning ocean.

“She’s gone!” He wails and drops to the sand. “She’s gone and it’s all my fault!” He places his crying face into his hands.

Ignoring his sadness, I walk away from him, leaving him to rot in his own sobbing mess.

I had other things on my mind.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Returning to the basement, I gather up all clothes, journals and personal belongings and stuff them inside a pillowcase, while I strip away the bedsheets of the mattress and include that with my items. Kicking the front door open, I climb the steps and exit through the garden that leads to the main street as I found my way back my old home.

The General Store shack.

Opening the wooden door, I unpack my things on the broken chair nearby and cover the old mattress with the clean sheet. Stripping off my clothes, except for my long johns, I unpack my clean ones and stack them on the old table nearby.

My eyes notice the bloodstained shirt that once belonged to Campbell. I pick it up and inhale the saltwater scent of him and try to remember his face, his blond hair, and his sea-blue eyes. I hug the article of clothing near my chest and lay down on the dirty, old mattress.

Eventually, I cry myself to sleep accepting this new life now as mine.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three days have past and Soot returns to work where tragedy befalls Adelaide's.

The rain pours down outside. It has been three days since Sirena had returned to the sea, four days that I sent Campbell away. I barely leave my shack to only to purchase the occasional bread from the bakery or a piece of fruit from the local grocer. Refusing to bathe during this time, I’m sure I smell of sulfur and decayed corpses, but I can care less about my foul odor I emit as I sink further into my melancholy.

From the rusty bed, and dirtied mattress I stare up at the ceiling, observing the dust and pieces of debris gather across the rotted wood as small droplets from the rain outside seep through the tiny crevice into my shack. I turn my head to the broken chair to see my once clean clothes picking up dirt, but simply glance the other way as everything gathers in cobwebs and musty mold.

Finally forcing myself up, I stand across the creak floorboards and bend down to retrieve the can of money underneath my bed. Seeing how I am running low on funds, I exhale a breath, grab what presentable clothes I still had left and put them on. Today, I’m going to plead to Madame Dupont for my job back even though I had not returned to work during this time. Hopefully, she will still employ me. Hopefully, I’ll earn enough money to leave Bristol Cove. Hopefully, I can find somewhere else where no one knows me as the dirty orphan. Hopefully.

[ ](https://postimages.org/)

I leave the shack, dressed in my old raggedy coat and cap, as the rain drenches me hard, soaking me to the bone. Through the mud, I hear the squishing of my boots, feel the droplets of water drowning my messy brown, hair, and the downpour of water across my disfigured face and skin.

Through blurry eyes, I see Adelaide’s across the street, and I force myself on. Alone. Sad. Invisible. There is nothing left of me now, but to simply exist.

I decide to enter through the front door, since I’m sure Miss Christmas doesn’t want to see me. With the rain washing the grime away like a wet cat, I march through the entrance while forming small puddles around me.

As usual nobody greets me in the foyer, as I quietly shut the door behind me. Removing my wet cap, I glance around to see none of Madame Dupont’s doves entertaining any new guests. In fact, there is no one by the entrance to acknowledge any new customers.

“Hello?”

No answer.

I decide to search for the brothel owner when I see Miss Cindy in her robe, frantically rushing down the stairs.

“Soot!” She rushes over, tears streaking from her cosmetics.

Worry starts to take over as I face her in my drenched state. “Miss Cindy, what’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“It’s Madame Dupont!” She sobs, pointing up stairs. “Captain Pownall came in looking for her all crazed. Started spouting nonsense and then grabbed her and took her into the last room. We keep hearing her screaming as he started shouting and breaking things inside. We think he’s hurting her! You have to come quick!”

I race up the stairs with Miss Cindy. As soon as I get to the top, Miss Marla, Miss Mariah, and Miss Sarah are all gathered close to the last room of the hallway as they listen to crying and violent yelling from the people inside.

“Soot!” Miss Mariah exclaims. “Thank God, it’s you! Captain Pownall is in a rage and I think he’s taking it out on Madame Dupont!”'

Miss Sarah nods her head. “You’ve got to do something!”

Miss Marla jumps in. “Get help quickly!”

“Hold on,” I reply calmly. “Girls, stay out here. I’m going in.”

I walk down the last bedroom, the one that use to belong to Sirena, and gently turn the knob. I peek in to see the large brutish stance of Captain Pownall slapping his face and bellowing toward a wall. Huddled in the corner, I make out the form of Madame Dupont crying as I notice a bruise under her left eye and small cut on her lip. I immediately enter.

“Captain Pownall?”

Instantly, I notice his eyes red, swollen with tears, while he rants at the wall away from me. Behind the bed near the nightstand, I observe Madame Dupont hunch over covering her face, as she whimpers into her palms.

“Do you not hear it, Soot?” He questions me. “The song! How it plays and never stops? It won’t leave my head. It only reminds me of her!”

“Her?” I swallow. “You mean Sirena?”

His face scrunches to anger. “DON’T SAY HER NAME! YOU DON’T DESERVE TO SAY HER NAME!” He points an accusing finger at me. “YOU LET HER GO, SOOT! YOU LET HER GO!”  
Nervously, I attempt to pacify him. “No, Captain.” I correct his statement. “We agreed that the best course of action was for her to return to the water! She would be safe there!”  
Captain Pownall slaps his head several times. “The song won’t go away! Her song! I keep hearing it! No! No! She’s not gone! She’s here!” His face glares at a weeping Madame Dupont. “She’s keeping her! She’s hiding her in this room somewhere against her will! WHERE IS SHE?”

Madame Dupont covers her mouth in fear. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” She pleads to the sea captain. “She’s not here!”

Unhappy with her response, he charges at her. “You lying whore!”

I immediately step in front of him, to block his attack. “Captain! Madame Dupont has nothing to with Sirena’s leaving! She left out of her own free will! Don’t take it out on Madame Dupont!”

His face snarls at me. “Get out of my way, Soot!” I refuse to budge. “I’m warning you!”

My head gestures to the brothel owner to run for the door. Fearful and distraught, she nods and waits for me for signal. Once again, I try to calm Captain Pownall down.

“Captain,” I mutter. “No one is to blame for Sirena leaving. It was her time. You must accept that!”

“NO!” He shrieks. “She wouldn’t have left me! She loves me! She’s loyal! Her song tells me to come to her! She’s waiting for me!” He grabs my shoulders and shakes me. “Listen, Soot!” His eyes spin around the room. “Don’t you hear her song? It’s everywhere!”

“I don’t hear anything,” I respond. Truthfully, I don’t. “Captain, there is nothing here!”

“LIES!” He roars, he slaps me across the face. I almost lose my balance. Seeing now that the sea captain couldn’t be reasoned with, I yell to Madame Dupont.

“Run!”

She darts from the corner toward the doorway. Captain Pownall advances, but I barricade his path. Turning his focus towards me, he grabs me by the throat and slams me against the wall, squeezing my neck tightly with each endless ramblings of his madness.

“You’ve taken her away from me, Soot!” He squeezes me tighter. “You’re making me do this! You’re in cahoots with Adelaide! You’re hiding her, admit it! Tell me where she is!”  
Air struggles to enter my breath, experiencing the tightness of my face and head, and my body convulsing with each stricture of Captain Pownall’s fingers wrapped around my throat. I violent slap his arm, hoping to release me, but he refuses. My mouth can barely make the words.

“Captain…Pownall…stop!”

A glint of realization hits his face. He lets go of his chokehold over me and I drop to the floor in front of him. A kick to my ribs, causes me to wince in pain, as the sea captain leaves me be and races outside into the hallway.

“I’M GOING TO KILL YOU ALL FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!”

His screeches vibrate down the corridor. I heard Madame Dupont and her girls screaming as I battle through the agonizing bruising of my ribs and catch my breath for a moment, before picking myself up and hobbling towards the door.

Clutching my hurt ribs, I see Captain Pownall gone, descending the stairs, while Adelaide’s doves surround their wounded brothel owner and offer her comfort.

“Soot!” Madame Dupont reaches for me.

I limp over to her, and raise her up, as she weeps into the soiled shoulder of my jacket. Wiping her tears with my dirty hands, I lift her face to check on the bad bruise and cut that Captain Pownall inflicted on her.

“Are you hurt badly, Madame Dupont?” I question her with concern.

She shakes her head. “Just from this black eye Charles gave me.”

I turn to the doves for assistance. “Can you ask Miss Christmas if we can get some broken ice wrapped in a towel from the ice box?”

“I’m sorry,” Miss Marla replies. “Like you, Soot, Christmas hasn’t been to work in the last three days.”

I came to resolution that Miss Christmas didn’t want anything to do with me after witnessing the birth of Sirena’s mermaid child. I fear that our friendship had finally concluded.

“Anyone, please!” I beg the doves. “Bring some ice from the ice box in the kitchen!”

Miss Mariah volunteers. “I’ll do it!” She scurries down the stairs to retrieve my request.

The rest of doves assist me with Madame Dupont as we too go downstairs and bring the brothel owner into the parlor. Helping her to a lounge sofa, we get her to sit while Miss Mariah returns with a towel containing the ice. I apply cold pressure on her bruise to keep the swelling down.

“Thank you, Soot,” she sighs, keeping the ice pack close to her face. The tears started to happen again.

“Tell me what happened, Madame Dupont,” I instruct her.

She lets out a sigh. “Charles came to visit me, but I could sense something was off. He kept asking me where Sirena was and that I was keeping her locked up in her old room. Then he began spouting some nonsense about songs and blaming me for allowing his mistress to run away. The next thing I knew, he punched me and slapped me around and threw me around the room. He’s never been violent with me before, Soot! What caused him to be a different person?”

[ ](https://postimg.cc/zLgDx3H2)

I shrug at the woman. “I don’t know, but he’s stricken with some affliction of madness. I’m afraid he’s a danger to himself and everyone else! There is no way to help him!”

Thunder and lightning crashes outside. The rain falls even harder, as I hear the pitter patter of droplets hitting the front porch. Suddenly, I get a whiff of something burning. I turn my face to the kitchen entrance to see a large cloud of smoke billowing close by. I go to investigate.

An enormous blaze engulfs the kitchen, spreading from the stove all the way to the back entrance. I dart back to the parlor and scream.

“FIRE!”

The doves yelp in confusion. I point to the front door and rip it open to the pouring rain outside.

“Quick!” I shout. “Everyone outside!”

Wearing nothing but their thin undergarments and robes, the four prostitutes race down the porch steps and stand outside, drenching themselves in the downpour. I grab Madame Dupont and gesture for her to follow.

“Wait!” She panics. “The money!”

She opens the closet nearby to take out a large carpet bag as she heads toward the end table with a secretive drawer, pulls it and begins emptying the safe with her earnings. Smoke nearly smothers the house in ash, as Madame Dupont finishes filling her suitcase with the house’s earnings. She takes my hand and we flee through the main entrance and meet her four doves outside.

[ ](https://postimages.org/)

Even with the torrential rain, we watch as half of the architecture of Adelaide’s is swallowed by the inferno. The doves huddle together weeping over their lost home as Bristol Cove’s volunteer fire fighters, pull in with their water wagon and begin filling their buckets to extinguish the flames. Little by little, the fire slowly dies out, but at the expense of Adelaide’s fully burning down. All around us the townsfolk gather, I overhear the rude conversations and hateful comments of the residents.

“Serves that Madame Dupont right with that house of ill-repute!”

“Who cares about those whores!”

“Finally, Madam Dupont gets her comeuppance!

“Sinners! The lot of them!”

“What a disgusting place! I’m happy that it burned down!”

“They are all going to hell!”

I exhale. More rain drenches us, causing us to shiver, as we stare at the once proud brothel, reduced to nothing but blackened ash and flecks of dying embers. Slowly, the crowd diminishes, leaving the most fallen and disgraceful to be flooded by the heavy showers.

[](https://postimages.org/)

Through her bruised eye, Madame Dupont stares at her now destroyed home in shock.

“It was Captain Pownall,” I conclude. “He did this!”

She nods in agreement. “I know, but there is nothing we ca do about it. No one will take the word of a whore that their own founder has gone insane and burned a building down. No one will believe us. It’s just how the world works.”

I fold my arms. “To them, we are nothing. This doesn’t surprise me.”

Shivering in the rain, Miss Cindy tilts her head to address her concern. “What is going to happen to us? Where ae we going to live?”

The other girls nod in agreement.

Madame Dupont sighs again. “For the first time, I really don’t know, my doves. I really don’t know.”

A heavy cloudburst soaks us down to our clothes. I try to offer them shelter at my shack, but even I know such a notion was foolish. My house is uninhabitable.

Through heavy droplets streaking through my face, I see a trio of familiar faces. Dressed in rain slicker gear, Miss Christmas, her husband Mr. Stanley, and Mr. Abel stomp through the puddles and mud carrying a stack of towels and sheets. She approaches me first.

“I have one question, Soot!” Miss Christmas demands, appearing quite stern and serious. “Do you believe in God?”

I shrug my shoulders. “I don’t know. I don’t know if I believe in anything anymore.”

She grins. “That’s good enough for me!” She nods to Madame Dupont. “Bring your doves to our blacksmith store! Our house is behind it! It’s tiny, but it’ll offer you and your girls a place to stay in the meantime! We’ll have to work out an agreement!”

The rain splashes across the brothel owner’s face. “Right now, Christmas! I’ll agree to anything!”

Mr. Stanley and Mr. Abel cover the doves in sheets and towels as Miss Christmas guides us to her home. It might not be Adelaide’s, but it’ll have to do for now.

We enter the Reeves’ living room, all us soaked by the rainwater outside. Mr. Stanley and Mr. Abel set down some blankets and pillows on the floor next to a large couch and armchair. From the kitchen, Miss Christmas enters with a tray of hot tea as she pours cups to each of us to warm us up. We dry ourselves next to the iron stove as we shake off the last of the downpour drenched on our clothes.

“It isn’t much,” Miss Christmas notes. “But you gals can sleep here until you get back on your feet. Washroom is down the hall to your left.”

Madame Dupont pulls a wad of cash from her waterlogged carpetbag and hands it to Miss Christmas. “This is for your troubles, Christmas. Thank you for putting us up.”

“Keep it, Madame Dupont,” Miss Christmas refuses her payment. “It’s the Christian to do.”

“No, I insist,” she tells the Negro woman. Miss Christmas shrugs and accepts the money, slipping it into her apron pocket.

Turning to face us both, Miss Christmas gestures to me and Madame Dupont to follow her to the kitchen.

“Stanley and Abel will attend to the girls,” she says. “I wanted a private moment with you both.”

Carrying our cups of hot tea, she leads us to the kitchen, and we all take seats at the small dining table. I intuitively knew that she had plenty of questions.

Drinking her brew, she stares at me from across the way, before setting her cup down. “I needed some time think, to ponder what I had seen that night. Be honest with me, Soot. Was that a demon Sirena gave birth to?”

I shake my head. “No.” I answer truthfully.

“Then what is it?”

I glance at Madame Dupont, who dabs at her bruised eye with her towel.

“I think it’s best you tell her, Soot.” The brothel owner suggests. “Even I have trouble believing it.”

Miss Christmas exhales. “At this point, Soot. I’ll believe anything. Tell me. What was it?”

I look down at the table. “Do you believe in mermaids, Miss Christmas?”

“Mermaids?” She scoffs. “You’re telling me it’s a mermaid?” She leans back in her chair. “You’re going tell me now that fairies exist like in the storybooks?”

I bite my lip and cock my head sideways. “I don’t know about that, but yes, it’s true. Mermaids are real!”

Seeing the honesty in my face, the servant woman’s mouth drops. “You’re serious.”

I nod.

“No,” Miss Christmas protests. “That’s impossible. Mermaids are fairytales. They’re not real! It can’t be!”

Madame Dupont touches her hand. “They exist, dear. Even I didn’t think they did, until I saw it with my own eyes.”

The revelation hits Miss Christmas like a ton of bricks. She shoots up from her chair. “That means Sirena and Campbell…?” She covers her mouth with her hand. “They’re one of them too! No wonder that kept acting strange and the baby, she is one of them!” She looks to me in fright. “Dear Lord, the baby! What happened to the baby?”

I sigh. “The baby is fine. Captain Pownall denied claim to the child, so I sent his daughter to live with the Haida. She is now in their care.”

“The Indians?” Madame Dupont gasps. “Is that wise?”

“They’re the only ones who know how to care for and respect such a beautiful creature,” I explain. “And their tribe is secretive. No one will go searching for them.”

Miss Christmas calmly sits back down. “Where are Sirena and Campbell now?”

“Back in the ocean,” I tell them. “Where they belong.”

“Will they ever come back?” She asks me, nervous that such creatures had lived among the residents of Bristol Cove.

“I don’t know,” I say. “I doubt it. Humans are merfolk are never to meant to meet.”

Madame Dupont rubs her chin. “You mean to tell me that Sirena just abandoned her child? What mother would do that?”

I glance down, shame completely washes over my face. Both women could sense that there was something more to the story.

“Soot?” Miss Christmas starts. “What aren’t you telling us?”

I release a breath. “She didn’t abandon her child. We told her that her daughter died.”

“Soot!” Madame Dupont covers her mouth in shock. “Why would you do that?”

I defend my actions. “You saw how difficult the birth was! Sirena fainted after the baby was born. Captain Pownall refused to care for her or accept her and knowing that this baby was born on land, Sirena couldn’t return to the sea. Halfling children can’t live in water. They’ll drown! We took desperate measures and fabricated the story while I sent the infant to the Haida. In her grief, Sirena returned to the water and now she’s back with her people.”

Miss Christmas pounds the table. “You were wrong, Soot! You separated a mother and her child! You had no right! How did you know that this baby couldn’t live in the sea? We all saw her tail! This baby is now an orphan like you!”

“Yes, she is!” I argue. “But giving her up to the Haida was the only way! She deserves a chance at happiness, to be loved and care for, and Powaqa and her people are the only ones capable of doing that! Besides, halflings children cannot breathe underwater!”

“How do you know, Soot?” She interrogates me.

“I just do.”

“How do you know?”

“BECAUSE I’M ONE OF THEM!” I shout to the servant woman.

Miss Christmas covers her mouth, while Madame Dupont stares at me in surprise.

“You’re a mermaid too?” The brothel owner questions me.

“Half of one, anyway,” I mutter. “My father was a disgraced sea captain and lighthouse keeper from Virginia. Eighteen years ago, he captured Sirena and her sister, my mother. He held them captive and raped my mother. I’m the product of that bastard’s horrible atrocity. Captain Pownall discovered them and freed them but at the cost of my mother’s life. He gave me up for adoption at the Precious Blood Orphanage at Blossom Hills. I didn’t find out about this until a month or so ago.”

“So, Sirena is sort of your aunt?” Madame Dupont asks.

“I guess so,” I say.

“But Sirena looks so young,” she remarks. “There is no way that she can be that old.”

I shrug. “Maybe mermaids age slower than humans. I don’t know. But everything about them is strange and different. Even I don’t understand how all of this works.”  
Miss Christmas folds her arms. “Do you grow a fish tail too?”

I shake my head. “No, I’m not anything like Sirena or Campbell. I can’t change and I can’t breathe in the ocean. I’ll drown, just like Sirena’s baby if we put her in water.” I point to the dry patches on my face. “This is a result of the union between humans and mermaids. It’s disfigurement! A curse! Giving her up to the Haida is the only way she could be safe and protected.”

Miss Christmas clucks her tongue. “But that didn’t give you the right to lie to Sirena about her baby. She has a right to know she’s still alive.”

My mouth curls. “Then what, Miss Christmas? We reveal her birth to Bristol Cove, have some sideshow lock her up to be gawked at, or possibly be killed by some hatemongers. That baby doesn’t deserve to be ostracized and harmed. If there is one thing, I’ve learned is that humans can be hateful monsters and can display acts of evil. Look at Captain Pownall! He’s gone insane!”

Madame Dupont sighs and addresses the bruise under her eye. “I should know firsthand. Captain Pownall did this to me. All because Sirena had left him.” She rubs a finger across her lips to think. “It might not seem right, but Soot’s intentions were just. Captain Pownall would have killed the child if Soot didn’t give her up to the Haida.”

Rubbing her chest, Miss Christmas ponders our words. “I guess you’re right. This baby deserves to feel safe and protected. The captain and even the townspeople might do something horrible to it, if they found out the truth. I suppose that the true demons are human beings.”

“Sad to say,” Soot remarks. “But I honestly believe that.”

The servant woman focuses on Madame Dupont. “What are you going to do now? With Adelaide’s gone, Bristol Cove doesn’t want you to rebuild.”

“That’s true,” the brothel owner replies, returning to drinking her tea. “I have a connection in Laguna Brooks. Their town has a bordello that the owner wants to retire. I figure I have the funds to restart the business up there.”

“That’s wonderful, Madame Dupont,” I comment. “The doves will follow you anywhere.”

“I will need an assistant,” she continues. “Soot, you’re interested?”

My eyes widen. “Me? Are you sure? Why me?”

“Well,” Madame Dupont starts. “You know the girls and you respect them. They’re fond of you and you know business after working under my roof, taking care of the house. I’ll share in some of the profit with you. I mean what is holding you back in Bristol Cove?”

Miss Christmas jumps in. “Soot, you should accept her offer. What other opportunities are you going to have? You can start a new life where no one knows you. You can be your own boss and be your own person like you always wanted.”

“What about you, Miss Christmas?” I question her. Even though the offer was enticing, I was going to miss her and the Reeves family. “And Mr. Stanley and Mr. Abel. You’re the only family and the only friends I know.”

The servant woman holds my hand. “We’ll always be here in Bristol Cove if you need us. We’re family, like you said, and that is never going to change. Do this for yourself, Soot. You deserve a chance at a better life. And don’t worry about me, I’ll find employment elsewhere.”

“I hear the Anchor is looking for a new cook,” Madame Dupont suggests. “Millie’s uncle owns the restaurant and I’ve already raved about Christmas’s cooking. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind hiring her.”

“See,” Miss Christmas smiles at me. “I’m going to be just fine.”

Madame Dupont nods at me. “What do you say, Soot? Want to be my assistant and share in the profits in Lagoon Brooks?”

The offer absolutely was enticing. I would move to a new town, be someone completely different than a dirty orphan, and finally have a sense of purpose and objective in life. Outside, the rain finally stops as I consider the brothel owner’s offer. I pause for a moment to meditate over the decision.

“I accept!” I finally agree.

Madame Dupont claps her hands. “Wonderful! We’ll be ready next week!”

Miss Christmas comes over to hug me. “I’m happy for you, Soot. Be someone you can be proud of in Lagoon Brooks. More importantly, please take a bath!” She inhales my neck. “You reek like the Devil, child!”

I laugh as I head into the washroom to take a congratulatory bath. After three days, I sure needed it.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soot discovers Captain Pownall's plan, leading to a historical tragedy.

Mr. Abel snores loudly. I lie awake on the floor covered in a blanket and pillow staring up at the ceiling, listening to him saw wood each time he takes a breath. Unable to sleep, I get up from the floor of his bedroom and quietly tiptoe out into the hallway.

In the living room, Madame Dupont takes the couch while her doves find a comfortable spot on the floorboards nearby to slumber. I head over to the washroom, turn on the kerosene lamp, and locate the sunlit soap and lye and furiously scrub the washtub that I had used earlier to remove all the grime and dirt that came from three days of residue build from my own body. I figure the polite thing do was to clean out the tub since I hadn’t bathe during that time, just to be polite.

Leaving the tub spic and span, I wash my hands and my face as I stare at the mirror and examine the dry patches of skin across my skin. What I said to Miss Christmas and Madame Dupont earlier was true, I am a disfigured half-mermaid. Proof that merfolk and humans shouldn’t mingle and coexist, but now I’ve accepted my more human side and that is what I should concentrate on in my life. Therefore, accepting that job offer from Madame Dupont is more of a blessing for me than a curse. Starting a new life in a new town finally gave me something to live for.

It gave me purpose.

Still, the sadness of losing Campbell still weighed heavily on me. I see his face everywhere, from the streets of Bristol Cove where we walked to the faces he’s met like Madame Dupont and Miss Christmas. I was missing him terribly. Yet, deep down I knew I had made the right decision sending him away. I can’t regret what I did.

I had to protect him, keep him safe, as I did with Sirena’s daughter. This is my burden to bear and I would happily do it over again. I had to accept that.

Extinguishing the lamp, I return to Mr. Abel’s bedroom and lie down on the floor. Hopefully, this time I’ll be able to sleep.

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Morning arrives. I head to the kitchen to see Miss Christmas serving breakfast to the doves and Madame Dupont. Her eggs, bacon, and toast are always a popular hit with the girls and the servant woman offers me a plate as well.

“Any plans today, Madame Dupont?” Miss Christmas asks the brothel owner.

“Sadly, we lost our clothes and belongings in the fire,” Madame Dupont points out. “The doves and I will stop by Mrs. Boudines to pick up some new clothes.”  
“Shopping!” Miss Sarah squeals.

“Oh, I’m gonna love getting a new dress!” Miss Mariah beams.

“Now, girls,” Madame Dupont warns. “We only need the essentials like everyday dresses, nightgowns, undergarments, and shoes. We’re not leaving for Lagoon Brooks until next week. We don’t need fancy frocks right now.”

“Do you think Mrs. Boudines will cater to you folks?” Miss Christmas asks. “You know how these Bristol Cove locals are with their high and mighty reputation.”

[ ](https://postimg.cc/zLgDx3H2)

“Nonsense!” Madame Dupont informs her. “I’ve given her plenty of business! She’ll be happy to take my money!” The brothel owner reaches into her robe and pulls a stack of bills and hands them to Miss Christmas. Our hostess begins to protest. “Now Christmas, you accept this money! I won’t hear another word about it! You and your husband have been kind to us and offered us the generosity of your home and your food! It’s the least we can do.”

“Very well, Madame Dupont,” Miss Christmas clucks on tongue. Dropping her pride, she accepts the brothel owner’s cash. She then turns to me. “What are you going to do today, Soot?”

“I think I’ll accompany Madame Dupont to Mrs. Boudines,” I tell her. “I mean I’m now a partial partner in this business. It’s time I show some initiative and make sure the doves are well taken care of.”

“Wonderful!” Madame Dupont claps her hands. “A gentleman escort! See, Soot, you’re already demonstrating some business know-how! I’m so proud of you!”

“Well, Soot,” Miss Christmas adds. “You can’t go out in those old, dirty clothes. You can borrow some of Stanley’s things, while I wash those up for you.”

“Thank you, Miss Christmas.” I reply. “I appreciate it.”

Our hostess smiles. “It’s nothing. I’m happy to see you back on your feet.”

We finish our breakfast, as the girls try to get themselves to look presentable in their robes and wrinkled clothes. Borrowing some of Mr. Stanley’s things, I put on a fresh shirt and clean trousers and meet Madame Dupont and the doves outside of the Reeves’ house. Even with the rain stopped, dark clouds still fill the sky indicating another storm coming, but we bravely journey through the muddied streets and puddles in the main street of Bristol Cove.

The dingle of the door’s bell signals Mrs. Boudines from the backroom of her store. Seeing me first, she scoops me up in a hug and kisses my cheek.

“Soot!” The widow store owner exclaims. “It’s good to see you again! Who have you brought this time?”

“Greetings Mrs. Boudines,” I say to her. I turn to the brothel owner and her doves. “You remember Madame Dupont?”

The older woman places a hand to her chest in surprise. “Adelaide Dupont? Oh my, I’m sorry to hear about what happened to your business! Are you all right?”

“I’m fine, Mrs. Boudines,” the brothel owner exchanges pleasantries. “Thank you for asking. Sadly, we lost our possessions in the fire.”

“Oh dear,” the widow covers her mouth. “That is awful. Do you know what started it?”

Madame Dupont carefully chooses her words. She didn’t want anyone knowing Captain Pownall’s madness and involvement in the fire. “It was an accident, I believe. One of the gentlemen accidentally knocked down a kerosene lamp and it ignited a blaze. Luckily, no one was hurt.”

“Dear Lord,” Mrs. Boudines shakes her head. “At least, everyone came out unharmed.” She glances at Madame Dupont and her girls and examines their attire. “I see you’re in desperate need of replacement clothes. You’ve come to the right place! Let’s see what we can find for you ladies!”

“That would be wonderful, Mrs. Boudines,” Madame Dupont responds.

The store widow proceeds to the backroom but not before I tap her shoulder to speak with her.

“Yes, Soot?” She addresses me.

“Thank you for doing this, Mrs. Boudines,” I whisper to her. “I realize that Madame Dupont and her doves have a scandalous reputation, but they are my friends. I’m hoping you would offer some Christian kindness to them after everything they’ve been through. You know how cruel some of the people are in Bristol Cove.”

Mrs. Boudines holds my hand. “Don’t you worry, Soot. They’re regular people like you and I and they deserve the same kindness as everyone else. I promise to treat them like ladies. Besides, that awful Eleanor Plimpton hasn’t been around in a while to spread her venomous gossip so they’re safe in my store. You can be sure of that.”

“Again, thank you,” I say to the older woman as I kiss her cheek. Mrs. Boudines runs to the backroom to gather clothing for the girls, while I cross over to Madame Dupont.   
“Looks like you have everything covered, Madame Dupont, I’m going to run some errands today and meet you back at Miss Christmas’s house.”

“That’s fine, Soot,” Madame Dupont agrees. “We’ll see back at the house.”

I bid all the doves goodbye as I exit out of the shop. Up above the clouds get even darker as light bits of drizzle start to fall. I rush over to the Anchor to meet with Millie.

Thankfully, the Anchor is slow due to the incoming heavy rain. Many of the locals have chosen to stay inside. I locate Mille cleaning a table and approach her.

“Soot!” She smiles. “Looking to eat here today?”

“Actually,” I began. “I was hoping for a favor. I heard you’re in need of a new cook. I have someone in mind.”

Millie scoffs. “If it’s you, Soot, I don’t think you are right person for the job. We need someone who knows their way around a kitchen.”

I laugh at her remark. “You’ll be happy to know that it isn’t me. It’s my friend, Miss Christmas. She used to work for Adelaide’s before it burned down last night.”

The serving girl frowns. “I heard what happened with the fire. I’m glad everyone wasn’t hurt. But your friend is a Negro and I don’t think my uncle will want to hire someone like that.”

Rage bubbles up inside me. Miss Christmas could cook amazing dishes better than the other white cooks in the kitchen. How dare the Anchor reject someone with talent because of who they are? I almost turn to leave when I forcefully calm myself and act like a professional businessman that I am.

“Millie, could I at last talk to him?” I ask her, hoping she’ll take my request.

“Okay,” she responds. “But it might not do you any good.”

She retreats to the kitchen for a few minutes, before coming out with a short gentleman in an apron and shaggy, brown beard. She introduces us.

“Uncle Garrett, this is Soot,” Mille says. “Soot, Uncle Garret.”

Leaving us alone to talk, Mille returns to her work. I stare at the gentleman and attempt to exude some confident to make my argument clear.

“I heard your friend is a Negro cook,” Uncle Garrett inquires. “Look, I got nothing against the Negroes. I worked with a couple down in Florida and they make delicious food, but my boys in the kitchen are white. They may not want to work with one.”

“I understand, Garrett,” I explain. “But Miss Christmas was a freed slave from a plantation of Mississippi. She has worked and cooked in the biggest mansions down there and she’s worked for Adelaide’s making batches of delicious recipes. I think the Anchor can benefit from her cooking if you give her a chance. Plus, she knows what’s it is like working with the white man, she can handle herself.”

Garrett scratches his beard. “I don’t know. We do need a cook though, since we’re a man down. Tell you what, let her know she can start next week on a trial basis. I can only pay her half what the white cooks here make, and she’ll have to stick it out for a month. If she can handle it, she’s hired full time.”

“Deal!” I extend my hand. 

Garrett accepts and shakes it, before returning to the kitchen. I rush out, say thank you to Millie nearby, and head out the door. Once outside, I jump in the air in happiness as the rain continues to fall even harder.

I walk a few paces before I overhear a conversation that startles me. Two men walk past me to the restaurant, exchanging a few disconcerting words.

[ ](https://postimages.org/)

“Have you heard that Eleanor Plimpton and her son Tyler haven’t been seen around town in a while?”

“Good riddance. I never did like that family. Eleanor with her holier than thou ways and Tyler is no better than a common criminal. They’re probably causing a fuss in another town, while founder Mortimer Plimpton is probably shacked up with some whore in Lagoon Brooks. To hell with the lot of them!”

“Are you accepting Captain Pownall’s offer to ship out today?”

“Hell no! Any man willing to die in this storm is a fool! The captain has lost his mind, hunting for big, deadly fish like sea serpents that attack humans. Even the other seafaring captains are refusing to ship out in this kind of weather. Already, four ships have gone down and two are missing. I don’t care if he is paying double, no man worth their sense would go fish hunting in this storm!”

“Twenty men have already accepted his offer and he’s willing to take more on board. I’m considering it. The pay is too great to resist. But something about it isn’t quite right. Pownall is bringing on board harpoons, cannons, and guns. What kind of fish is he hunting? Though I’m tempted by his offer.”

“You might as well dig yourself your own grave! The waves currently are deadly. No ship will survive the passage on water. I don’t care how much Captain Pownall is offering. I want to live another day to tell the tale that I didn’t die at sea.”

“Good luck to the poor saps that want to die in this storm!”

The pair disappear inside the Anchor. Fear and concern rattle me to the core. Captain Pownall has finally succumbed to the madness of Sirena’s song. He means to do harm to all merfolk and there is no one to stop him.

No one, but me.

I search through my soul to comprehend what is right. It didn’t take me long. I knew what I had to do. Racing to my old shack, I grab my money jar, stack of dirty clothes, and the sea journals before meeting Mr. Robards at the general store. Plopping the last of my cash on the counter, I address the man.

“Soot?” Mr. Robards eyes me suspiciously. “What is this all about?”

“I don’t have time to argue with you about Indians and Negros,” I bluntly tell him. “Give me a wool bonnet, scarf, heavy coat, and a rain slicker now!”

The General Store owner hands me my request and accepts my money without saying anything. Refusing to goodbye or even a polite thank you to this hateful man, I grab my bundle and sprint out the door. Already, the rain grows heavier into a huge downpour as the clouds up above get darker and gloomier. Drenched and soaking, I don’t bother to dry myself as I head inside the Reeves’ house and go to find Miss Christmas.

The Negro woman scowls at me. “Soot! You’re soaking and you’re getting my house all wet!”

“I’m sorry, Miss Christmas,” I apologize. “But I’m in hurry and I don’t have time to explain. Is Madame Dupont around?”

“Not yet,” Miss Christmas replies. “They’re still at the dress shop. Why?”

“It’s better this way,” I sigh. “Goodbyes are always difficult for me.”

The servant woman displays concern on her face. “Soot, you’re talking nonsense. You’re worrying me. What is going on?”

Plopping my drenched clothes, both old and new, down the kitchen table, I pull the two dry sea journals from the bundle. I hand them to her.

“What’s this?” Miss Christmas asks.

“They’re my father’s and Captain Pownall’s journals,” I explain. “Before I get to that, I have some good news. The Anchor is looking for a new cook. They’re willing to hire you if you come in next week, but there only offering half the pay of the white cooks. I know that isn’t fair, but if you convince them with your delicious recipes, they’ll probably pay you more over time. You have a month trial with them if you’re interested.”

Miss Christmas’s eyes shot up. “Um, thank you, Soot. I think I’m going to accept the offer. Work is work here in town.”

“Wonderful,” I smile before my face transforms to a frown. “Now for the difficult part.” I point to the journals. “In these writings, Captain Pownall and my father detailed their first meetings with the mermaids and what happened after. I want you to keep these and write them into your history book about Bristol Cove. I want you to make people remember and understand.”

“Soot,” Miss Christmas sighs. “I’m no writer and, like I said, no one is going to accept something from a woman, let alone a Negro one.”

“Then write under a pen name,” I suggest. “Let your story and the town’s story be told. It’s important!”

“Why?”

I inhale. “I discovered that Captain Pownall has completely gone insane. He’s taking a crew with him to hunt for the mermaids in this storm to kill them. I have to go and stop him!”

“Soot!” Miss Christmas gasps. “You can’t! They’re not your people! We are! You can’t make such a sacrifice! You can’t die on me!”

Tears fill my eyes. “I’m sorry, Miss Christmas, but you’re wrong, they are my people. I’m half of them and they need my help. I betrayed Sirena and lost Campbell. I’m willing to die to make this right!”

Miss Christmas begins to sob. “Lord, help me! I can’t tell you what to do!” She embraces me tightly. “You’re a good person, Soot. I know you feel you need to do this, to make this right. Please promise me that when this is over, you’ll return home safely to us!”

“I promise,” I mumble through my tears. “Tell Madame Dupont, I’m sorry for everything.”

Miss Christmas slowly nods as I pick up the heavy coat, scarf, bonnet, and rain slicker and put them on. Hearing my friend, and only family member, weeping at the kitchen table, I turn and walk away into the pouring rain.

Even some things are too painful to see and listen to.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sky is completely dark. Thunder and lightning streak through the sky as the rain continues to drench all of Bristol Cove. Wrapped in the scarf and wool bonnet, I disguise my face so Captain Pownall doesn’t recognize me as I head to the docks where his small schooner, The Jenny Haniver, remains at port as his crew loads up the cargo. From my rain drenched eyes, I notice the twenty men has now diminished to fifteen as the smartest workers remain at home. In distance, the waves roll violently signifying an impending storm coming.

“Are you with Pownall’s crew?” A fellow sailor questions me.

Silently, I nod.

“Good,” he replies. “Help me with this crate.”

Together, we lift a heavy container on board as I hear Captain Pownall insane orders being dispensed to his crew.

“Hurry men!” He announces. “We must be out to sea soon! The song is telling me of the monsters of the deep threatening our Bristol Cove water! We must eradicate them before they invade our shores! Do you not hear them? They are hunting us! We must be off to protect ourselves!”

I overhear one of the other crewmen shake his head. “What is he blabbering about? He sounds mad!”

“Who cares,” another responds. “As long as he pays us triple for what he’s promising, we can kill sharks for all I care!”

Once loaded, the Jenny Haniver sets off into the ocean. I get the first impact of the waves hitting the bow, causing me to drop to the deck on my knees. I steady myself up, clutching the mast as I watch my fellow sailors retching over the side of the railing. Perhaps it’s my half mermaid physiology that prevents my seasickness but I’m right now grateful that I’m not vomiting in front of my fellow crewmen.

[ ](https://postimg.cc/GBSnd1bg)

“Stay strong, boys!” Captain Pownall shouts. “The song is everywhere! It’s warning me of the incoming monsters! We must deal with them! We stop them from entering our shores!”

Heavy rain and seawater splash against my face as I grip the mast while the sailing vessel rocks against the turbulent sea. Up above, the black clouds blockade the sun allowing only cracks of thunder and lightning to combine with heavy winds as we toss and turn in within the rising waves.

We sail on, which seems like an eternity, before stopping and anchoring in the middle of nowhere. I glance up to see Captain Pownall behind the steering wheel appearing ghostly white.

“The song is getting louder!” He proclaims. “It beats in my head! It’s telling us we’re here! Boys, grab your weapons!”

Still wrapping my arms around the mast, I watch as a few crew members pick up pistols and harpoons. Even stationary, the waves beat against the hull violently drenching in both rain and ocean water.

Captain Pownall’s face turns ghostly white. “The song is coming!” He covers his ears. “It’s loud! So loud, it’s screaming! It won’t stop! STOP!”

I hear something too. Melodic, beautiful, alluring. It drops and rises in rhythm; I nervously gulp for what is about to happen.

Dear God. No!

High above the lookout of the foremast, one of the sailors notice something in his telescope.

“I see a whale of some kind moving in the water!”

Something long and sharp shoots out of the water, striking the lookout. He screams, tumbling over his post and slams to the deck dead with a spear through his body.

“WE’RE UNDER ATTACK!”

Captain Pownall screeches. He whips out his revolver and cutlass and races across the deck.

Spears shoot from all directions, piercing the deck and the hull. In a panic, the crewmen duck for cover as merfolk climb over the ship with weapons ready. Two sailors perish from the spears directed at them, while the surviving few defend the ship with guns fired, harpoons shot out, and cannons blasted into the water. The hull became a massacre stained in the blood of the merfolk, as my unarmed self observes helplessly from the safety of the hull, blocked by a large crate.

“DEFEND THE SHIP!” Captain Pownall screams. “LEAVE NO SEA CREATURE ALIVE! THE SONG SAYS SO! IT’S EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF!” He fires his pistol at a mermaid attacking him, killing her while cutting down a merman with his cutlass nearby. The deck splatters in red as sailors protect the Jenny Haniver from ocean dwellers.

[ ](https://postimg.cc/2qtMgFxP)

Against the rocky waves, the ship rocks even more furiously before. Water strikes the hull again, flooding the deck, and washing the bodies of the dead, both human and merfolk, into the sea. More ocean beings invade the ship as cannons fire into the water, killing more of their brethren as I conceal myself unable to move, a coward of both the land and the sea.

“KILL THEM ALL!” The sea captain orders his crew. “LEAVE NO MERFOLK ALIVE! STOP THE INVADERS! THE SONG ORDERS YOU TOO!”

A merman slips over the bow and slithers toward Pownall, preoccupied with harpooning two mermaids. He lifts his spear at the madman, only for me to notice the blond hair, handsome chiseled face, and sea-blue eyes through the grayish skin, scales, sharp teeth, and fins.

Campbell.

[ ](https://postimages.org/)

Quickly removing my bonnet and scarf, I rush over and get in between the merman and the sea captain.

“STOP!” I scream.

“Soot!” Captain Pownall lowers his harpoon. “What the hell are you doing here?”

I ignore the insane captain and turn to merman. Tears flood my eyes as the rain pours heavily over my face.

“Campbell, I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I should’ve stopped this a long ago.”

Though his screeches, the merman appears to comprehend what I’m saying in a language we both only understand.

“Soot…” he whispers.

I wipe my tears to face the insane captain. “Captain Pownall, stop this! Killing them won’t bring Sirena back! They’re not our enemy!”

Captain Pownall shakes his head back and forth. “Get away, Soot! It’s the song, don’t you hear it? They’ve taken away my Sirena! They’ve captured her, holding her hostage! I must free here! I must make this right! The song tells me so! She’s calling out to me!”

[ ](https://postimages.org/)

“No, it’s not!” I attempt to reason with him. “Sirena’s gone. Her song is driving you to madness. You are killing these beautiful creatures out of revenge. Don’t do this!” I extend my hand. “Let me help you!”

Captain Pownall scowls. “You’re one of them! You’re working with them! You’re stealing my beloved, Sirena! I don’t believe you! The song tells me not to believe you!”  
“No, Captain!” I protest as I step forward. “I…”

Something long and pointy shoots out of the water. I feel it pierce my chest, as I look down in shock to see the pointed blade of the spear right through me and droplets of crimson red gathering around my shirt and streak down my mouth. I drop to the deck floor.

“NOOOO!” Captain Pownall screams. He raises his harpoon at Campbell who shrieks and charges at him with his spear. Pushing the lever, the harpoon strikes the merman in the shoulder, allowing the sea captain to raise his pistol. He fires two shots into Campbell taking him down.

More screams of anguish come from the merfolk being massacred above the ship as both the ocean creatures and the crewmen fall during the battle. A tall, heavy wave pushes through the deck, shoving myself and a wounded Campbell across the floor and towards the ship’s railing.

I feel and hear my heavy breaths as I see Campbell’s dying next to me near the edge of the ship. Small tears continue through my eyes fighting through the streaks of heavy rain from the dark clouds in the sky.

“Campbell…forgive me…” I whisper. “I was a fool…to let…you go…”

The merman opens his webbed claw hand to me, I use every ounce of strength to touch him with my fingers. We successfully manage to hold our palms together.  
“Soot…” he replies faintly. “Love…Mate…forever…I…love…Soot.”

I cry, slowly giving in to the blackness. “Yes, Campbell…I love you…too…forever.”

His eyes close next to me, while I remain open. I watch the remainder of the massacre unfold, unable to do anything, as I gradually drift away, soaring above my body pulling me toward the heavens.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How long has my spirit been floating? I fly though the heavy dense clouds, hearing the thunder and seeing the lighting pass through me. The downpour becomes more brutal observing the Jenny Haniver rock against the violent waves. The sails tear against the turbulent winds and rough rains, as more of the crew fall as do the remaining merfolk. The water becomes a mist of scarlet, as bodies float among the surface as well as the deep, but it is Captain Pownall with his weapons raised who continues to fight to the very end.  
One huge wave, the size of a tall mountain finally slams against the ship, capsizing the vessel, and turns it completely over. Captain Pownall hits the water, sinking into the dark abyss as he is surrounded by the bodies of the merfolk he murdered in his genocide. Still alive, he struggles to swim to the surface as I watch something fast moving towards him in the distance.

It is a dark-haired mermaid, enraged at her fallen comrades, who races toward him, spear in hand. She raises her weapon and kills him, finally ending his madness and his reign of terror.

I watch all of this as I see the fallen spirits of the merfolk swimming toward a beautiful light. A song plays, melodic and beautiful, in my ears, beckoning me to follow.

I do.

[](https://postimages.org/)


	17. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bristol Cove's aftermath.

EPILOGUE

I see the world, the wondrous changes it becomes. I see stagecoaches, pulled without horses, driving along roads paved with other vehicles. I see ships with wings, soaring through the sky. I see innovations and inventions, advancements in science and technology, and the need to make human beings’ lives better.

I see Miss Christmas promoted to head cook at The Anchor and paid more for her dishes. She writes the history of Bristol Cove, including the contributions of its late founder, Captain Pownall, and his mythical mermaids, which becomes a tourist attraction with a statue dedicated in his honor. Writing under a pen name, she becomes one of the first Negro female authors to pen a memoir of the slave narrative and inspire her daughters, granddaughters, and great granddaughters to become writers as well, and influence other women of color.

[ ](https://postimages.org/)

With the invention of the automobile, Mr. Stanley, and Mr. Abel, convert their blacksmith shop into one of the first auto repair shops in Bristol Cove. Their descendants would subsequently carry one with the business and make it become a historical landmark for the town. 

Madame Dupont and her doves successfully continue with their bordello in Lagoon Brooks with Miss Cindy acting as her assistance. Later, the brothel owner and her girls would open a popular vaudeville burlesque show before closing to marry rich husbands. Each of them found happiness in their lives.

With his family presumed missing and dead, Bristol Cove founder, Mortimer Plimpton, left the town and found meager success owning a gambling house in Texas. He would later die of alcohol poisoning. Captain Pownall’s daughter found a family with the Haida. With mermaid blood running through her veins, she married and had children of her own. Her line would connect others of a similar nature and create a secretive community within Bristol Cove.

Throughout its one hundred fifty-year history, Bristol Cove has seen its fair share of changes from its old businesses like Mrs. Boudine’s and the General Store closing to make way for shopping centers, big box stores, and flashy restaurants. Newly discovered real estate has always been on the market for commercial and private businesses as well as more land open to the possibility of housing. The one thing constant is Captain Pownall’s cannery business. Now known as Pownall’s Seafood, the fishing corporation now has become a multi-billion-dollar conglomerate, owned by the descendants of the late founder.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As for me, I continue to swim. I float toward the light, witnessing the glistening sparkle of the sea and harmonious song that keeps telling me to move forward. It’s glorious, magnificent, and peaceful.

I continue, enjoying the sweet tranquility of the water, until I see something bobbing up and down, waiting patiently for me.

I stop, recognizing him immediately. He too does the same. Glancing down, I look at my hands. No longer baring the dried streaks of red skin, I see perfect scales, webbed clawed fingers, and the grayish hue of my skin. Down below, I notice my legs gone; in its place, the long fish tail and fins sliding around in the deep blue.

I nearly weep for joy as the other merman comes closer.

Campbell.

He holds me close, placing his forehead to mine as we excitedly touch in our reunion.

[ ](https://postimg.cc/3WGQ56V9)

“Soot, here with me.” He says to me. His voice, soothing and wonderful. “My mate forever.”

“Yes,” I reply smiling. “Forever, Campbell. I love you.”

“I love you too,” he tells me.

Our closed mouths touch, concealing the sharp teeth underneath, as I follow him through the water.

We swim with the others, following the light, encircling the other fish that surround us. He points to a brown-haired mermaid, opening her arms to me. Sea-blue eyes, warm and welcoming, I could sense her crying waiting for me for what seems like an eternity.

“Mama!” I shout.

She welcomes me into her embrace, as Campbell observes my happiness.

[ ](https://postimages.org/)

I’m finally free now. I’m where I’m meant to be.

Home.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I return to Campbell, who pulls me into his embrace. We entwine, our fishtails wrap against each other. Our souls blending, merging into complete happiness, becoming one of complete happiness and love.

Together we create and infuse ourselves into another soul, born from an expectant mermaid.

This one will be special. This one will learn the ways of kindness, compassion, hope and love.

She is the bridge of land and sea, to connect mermaid and humans once more. She is our savior.

Our emissary.

She will have a name that all merfolk will remember.

Ryn.

[ ](https://postimages.org/)

THE END

[](https://postimages.org/)


End file.
